A silver charm
by aielsoul
Summary: Canon until they go to the underworld. My version of how things should go from there. It starts with a simple silver charm, and an unexpected new character. M for later chapters containing violence and strong language. SQ eventually. Many characters will be in and out. All errors are mine. OUAT is not. I own nothing except my version of events.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at writing, anything. Ever. Be kind. I will continue if this receives good reviews I suppose. I have a pretty limitless amount of story in my head. Constantly imagining. Let me know what you think.**

Chapter 1

The group of unlikely companions begin to walk towards the boat the heads to the underworld. It seems strange to everyone that they just finished avoiding the underworld, and now they are practically jumping at the chance to go to that very place. But Hook gave his life to end the darkness, and he shouldn't have had to. Rumple twisted his sacrifice and made it pointless. Being the savior, Emma can't simply let that happen. So, the plan is fairly simple: waltz into the underworld, find Hook, give him half of Emma's heart, skip out singing a jolly tune of heroism. Simple.

"Wait", Robin says as he stops walking.

Regina looks at him and wonders what he could possibly want to wait for (she can't read his face, he always looks confused). "What are we waiting for dear?".

"Zelena is gone, and my daughter is alone along with my son. What if something happens to me while we are trying to save Hook? I don't think he is worth the chance of my children growing up orphans".

"Hook is one of us, and Emma's true love. We are obligated to save him because of love and… duty, I think". Regina rolls her eyes and turns back towards the awaiting death boat.

Robin sort of shuffles his feet a bit but doesn't move towards the boat. "Regina…".

At this point enough time has been wasted and Henry is fairly impatient to be on their way. Henry stomps over to Robin and looks him straight in the eye "If you do not want to go, fine. Stay. But quit holding us up".

Regina turns Henry around by his shoulders and gives him a light push towards the boat "calm down Henry, Robin wouldn't let me go to the underworld alone". She gestures towards Robin and then to the boat again, "Right?".

Robin shakes his head and walks back to the bank of the pond "I'm not going. I won't risk my family for the pirate". The Charmings share a look and quietly move closer to the boat.

"Robin, you can't be serious, I thought I was also part of your family?". Regina doesn't look hurt, she just looks angry at this point. When Robin just stares at his feet Regina is done arguing with this child. "Fine. Stay here and you can be the babysitter. Pick up Neal while you're at it". And with that she walks to the boat and steps into it.

"Regina…." Snow starts with a concerned look on her face but she doesn't get to finish her sentimental; nonsense.

"Awesome, more room in the boat" Emma says as she hops in "Let's go!".

Everyone piles in the small boat and they begin to coast into the wall of fog that serves as the doorway to the underworld. They are stacked fairly close to one another, shoulder to shoulder. Except Regina who has a small empty space around herself that no one feels like intruding upon. After all, when an evil queen looks mad, you probably shouldn't bump into her.

As the tiny boat coasts through the water, the fog completely envelops the group. Everyone, with the exception of Rumple, looks rather nervous. "not to worry dearies, it's just fog. We should be through it quick enough".

It seemed to take entirely too long, but eventually the fog began to thin out. "I can see something, land I think". Henry points as he speaks and sure enough, there is a bank emerging from the fog in front of the boat. The fog seems to stop abruptly at the bank and a steep embankment can be seen through semi-darknes. "Me first!" Henry shouts as he jumps, but is stopped before both feet leave the boat by a thick purple vine of magic.

"Not going to happen" Regina sets him properly back on the boat and turns to Rumple, "well? Should we just stand here or start climbing?"

Rumple smirks at her but steps onto the bank and begins to walk up the steep incline. So far the only thing that can be seen is this one landing and steep cliffs, and of course fog behind the boat. The embankment is too steep to see over so they will just have to climb up to have a look around.

One by one the group sets off and up the bank. Emma follows Rumple, close behind is Snow and David. Regina makes Henry go in front of her because she doesn't trust the boat driver not to take him when she steps off. Finally as she reaches the top of the hill, she stands next to everyone else and looks at the land before them.

As far as the horizon goes, there is nothing. The land is mostly flat and covered in a sort of scrub grass. No trees, no mountains or hills. All the way to the dimly lit horizon. Glancing behind her she lets out a surprised gasping noise. Everyone turns to see what she is seeing and a few more gasps join in. There is nothing behind them. No cliffs, no river. No boat, no way home. Just more of the nothing flatness, all the way around them. All the way to the horizons.

"Lovely place you have here Rumple," Regina arches one brow at the imp "decorate it yourself?"

Rumple is unphased and simply smiles back at her. Emma on the other hand, is not amused in the least. "What the hell is this? Where do we go?" She is frustrated and impatient and Regina finds a little pity for her. And a little irritation also.

"Did you expect the underworld to be simple Emma?" The deflated look Emma wears makes Regina feel a little bad so she walks over to the blonde and uses her finger to make Emma look at her "hey, it's not going to be simple, but we will make it work. You're a Charming remember? You have a habit of finding the people you're looking for. It's very cliché. But it's all your genetics seem to be good for, so use it." Emma smiled a little and seemed to regain a little bit of confidence.

"ok. Underworld. No problem. Let's go…. This way" she headed off in a direction exactly the same as every other one. Rumple, still wearing a tiny smile, followed so everyone else did too. After what seemed like hours of walking, nothing had changed. The scenery was the same, the dim lighting of the sky was the same. There didn't seem to be a sun or moon. But the sky wasn't exactly night or day either. More like a permanent twilight sort of lighting.

David and Snow were chatting quietly to each other, mostly about Neal from what Regina could catch of it. _How nice,_ she thought, _here we are, aimlessly wandering through the barren landscape of the underworld and those two just chat away like they are strolling through a park. Meanwhile I can't even get my true love to follow me here._ She thought the last bit rather bitterly. Robin had a point, about the children. But he didn't object to Henry and Regina coming here, without him. He didn't mention Neal being without Snow and David. He did mention Zelena being gone. Hopefully he would quit talking about her now though. Regina smiled an evil little smirk remembering sending her sister to Oz. She should have done that as soon as she gave birth. So much for giving her another chance.

Emma was leading the way, the way to where she had no idea. But damn it she was leading them somewhere. Eventually, instead of following her the group was sort of spread out to either side, sometimes behind one or the other, sometimes passing each other a little. Mostly wandering idiotically with absolutely no sense of direction or accomplishment. Every now and then she glanced at the others. Henry looked determined. He was very hopeful and optimistic and for some reason seemed to think his mother knew where she was going. Snow and Charming were chatting idly about Neal and paint colors and other meaningless things. _Seriously you guys?_ Emma mentally criticized her parents, _we happen to be in the underworld here. Completely lost. Heading nowhere really, and you guys are just chatting like we're headed to Granny's for dinner?_ She kind of envied them though. She sort of wanted to talk to someone and maybe get some help with leading this parade. Glancing at Regina, she saw the woman had on one of her evil queen smirks, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Everyone seemed to be taking her direction in their own way.

Suddenly Emma stopped walking. So suddenly Regina nearly ran right in to her. She hadn't realized how closely she had been following the woman. As everyone looked questions at Emma, Emma was staring at someone else; Rumple. "Do you have any idea what we are doing? What do we need to be doing? Where do we go?"

Rumple was still wearing that little smug smirk he was oh so fond of. "I have no idea where we are going. I'm not leading the way. You are. So, maybe you should ask yourself where are we going?"

Regina rolled her eyes, she really wasn't in any kind of mood for this nonsense. "Please, you know exactly what she needs to do Gold. Tell her, or we will be wandering around forever waiting for her to figure it out." Emma looked a little offended by the comment so Regina smoothed it over a little "Because you have never been here, or even heard of this place before dear, not because you're an idiot."

Not sure whether that was a compliment or insult, Emma looked sideways at her and then turned to Rumple, "tell me what I need to do."

"Well it isn't difficult, I really do not understand why you haven't managed to do it by now. All you need to do it focus your thoughts on what you want and walk towards it."

Emma considered this for a moment and realized that all this time she had been thinking about the people around her already, not about Hook. _Idiot,_ she thought. Ok, she closed her eyes and focused on thoughts about Hook. About him and his face and his, well, hook. She opened her eyes still imagining him and looked around, still nothing as far as she could see except the one mountain on the horizon. _This is ridiculous, I did what he said and…. Wait… what mountain?_ She looked again and pointed, "look! There's, uhm, a mountain? That's new, yeah?"

Everyone immediately began walking towards the mountain, relieved to finally have something to work towards. And yet… "It is not getting any closer! Really Miss Swan, how hard could it be to think about the pirate? Imagine his stench and the way his guyliner takes forever for him to get just right. Or imagine the time we saw him get his hook tangled in a tablecloth and ripped everything off the table trying to disentangle himself." She could go on but was interrupted.

"Alright Regina. I get it. And I am thinking about him. I swear I am. I don't know why it's not getting closer." Emma had been thinking about him, well focusing on the way he looks really. She had actually thought about the tablecloth thing, but she wasn't about to tell Regina that. _It's not like it's easy focusing on him right now. I have my mom and dad and Henry and Regina to think about too. If something happens to them while we are here it will be my fault._ In fact, she though, something has already happened. Robin. Regina was in a bitter mood because of him, she knew. Emma wasn't at all troubled that he didn't come. She wasn't overly fond of him. In fact, she thought he was incredibly dull. Very lack luster. What Regina saw in him she couldn't fathom. Regina needed someone more enthusiastic, more adventurous, heroic even. She definitely needed someone who would never let her go to the underworld without them. She wouldn't let Regina go without her, and she wasn't even the one picked by some cosmic fairy dust. Of course that probably wasn't fair, her and Regina had been through so much together. Robin had been around for five minutes. And one of those minutes was when he left her and impregnated Zelena. Regina shouldn't be…

Emma grunted as she ran into something and bounced to the ground. "What the hell?..." Emma looked around only to see Regina also on the ground rubbing her forehead. "Regina are you.."

"Emma! What was that all about?" Snow rushed to help Emma off the ground as David did the same for Regina.

"uhm…. What happened?" Emma asked as she dusted her clothes off.

"You happened" Regina waved off David's hand and helped herself up. "We were walking, following you as ridiculous as that sounds, and you suddenly run forehead first into me".

"Oh, yeah, my mind may have wandered off topic a bit." Regina brushed herself off and rolled her eyes at Emma, "Sorry, are you alright though Regina?"

"Yes I'm fine. Now focus on Guyliner. I want to go home."

Emma was blushing a little at her own idiocy for thinking so much about Regina instead of Hook. "Forgive me dearie," Rumple leaned in close so only Emma could hear him speak, "perhaps is you put as much emotion into thinking of Killian as you do thinking of Regina, it would be him you run in to next". He smirked a little then turned and moved back to the others in the group.

Twice more Emma tried to focus on Hook and twice more ran into Regina. Regina however had put up a small barrier in time to prevent a collision after the second time so only Emma needed help up off the ground. "I can't do this! I don't know why but I can't. Someone else think of him."

"He's your love, not ours, it wouldn't work." Rumple said matter-of-factly. "But perhaps you need a little help?" Emma nodded and Regina rolled her eyes again impatiently. "Alright then, I can summon someone to assist in our search".

"What?! Why would you wait this long to offer this?" Henry fumed at him.

"Because, the assistance is rather tiresome to summon and can be a bit much to deal with Henry. If Emma really wants help, I can get it for her, but she can't blame me later for doing this".

"Ok, Mr. Riddle. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, I want help." Emma was still rubbing her backside from the last fall.

"As you wish dearie", there was a very devilish glint in Rumple's eye that made everyone nervous. He closed his eyes and mumbled something then there was a puff of magic smoke and when it was gone, a tiny charm was in his palm. It was silver and shaped like a violin. He smiled as he looked it over a few times. He tossed it to Emma and she examined it for a minute before asking, "now what?"

As if on cue, the trinket vibrated in her hand and surprised her enough she dropped it. It hit the ground and disappeared. "Shit". There was a strange giggle behind the group and everyone spun around at the noise.

There stood a woman. She was about as tall as Emma, athletic build. Nothing too unusual. Unless you consider the fact that her entire visible body was covered in intricate silver tattoos. They looked like tiny runes of every imaginable shape. They were silver and seemed to shine, as if they were real pieces of silver embedded somehow in her skin. Her eyes were silver, and so was her short, messy hair. She was wearing something like white shorts, but all of one piece, no seams. And her top was like a loose tank top, white and seamless. The clothes looked more like they were dropped on her accidentally instead of put on. She was standing there, seemingly posing as the group stared at her. She had a smug, "yeah I'm awesome" sort of look on her face. If she had to be described in one word, the word would have to be "confident" without a doubt.

"uhm… Hi?" David was staring at her with a slightly slack jaw and a goofy half lidded expression.

"Yeah, hi", Henry was wearing an almost identical look on his face.

Snow stopped staring at the woman long enough to see her husbands face and slapped him, rather hard, across his chest.

"Ow! What? I just …said… hi…" He trailed off as his eyes landed on the woman again, who was displaying a brilliant smile now.

Rumple cleared his throat loudly and everyone looked at him, except David and Henry, they couldn't seem to stop ogling the woman… "Before we have a case of spousal abuse on our hands…" He waved his hand over David and then Henry and a sort of transparent wave crossed over their eyes.

Both boys shook their heads a little and then just seemed confused. "Who is that?" David asked and pointed at the woman.

"Apparently a woman you can't stop yourself from drooling over!" Snow angrily spat at him.

David was genuinely confused now, he looked the woman up and down once then looked at Snow again, "She's not unattractive, but I certainly am not drooling by any means. Why would I do that?"

Rumple held up his hands as the woman giggled and crossed her arms over her chest in a powerful looking stance that seemed to be half strut even though she wasn't moving. "He couldn't help it. Neither could Henry. I admit, I could have shielded them as I did myself before she appeared but" he spread his hands in mock defense, "I have to entertain myself from time to time."

Snow looked sideways at David anyway and pursed her lips at the woman. Who, by the way, Snow still thought was impressively beautiful and strangely alluring.

The woman was still holding back a laugh but finally put her hands on her hips and focused on the group as a whole. "Hello ladies, and gentleman… And Rumple." She cocked an eyebrow at Gold before continuing. "My name is Lorelei. And I, do not like being summoned. Although I do appreciate that the summoner is quite lovely." She looked Emma up and down in a manner that actually made her blush and shift her feet a little.

Regina wasn't about to let some woman eye rape Emma. "Hey" she snapped her fingers at Lorelei twice before the woman looked at her. "Are you here to help us or sexually harass us?"

Lorelei laughed a good laugh at that one. "It's not harassment. It's a sort of payment. I eyeball whatever I damn well please and in turn, I don't kill your men."

A wave of confusion went through everyone before being replaced by being on guard for a threat.

"Please, listen." Rumple held up one hand at everyone. "Lorelei is indeed powerful enough to eliminate anyone she chooses, but she has only ever killed men. And those men have never been worth the air they breath. She does however like to threaten." He turned towards Lorelei and addressed everyone. "She is a very powerful being, she is a Siren. And she can take us anywhere in the underworld. All we have to do, is shield the men so they do not kill themselves from longing for her. Oh, and just try to ignore the intense eye-raping. She is a creature of magic, music, and passion."

Lorelei looked thrilled. She clapped her hands together and said "So! Where do you divine women need to go?"

Emma glanced at Regina who sort of shrugged and gestured in a way that said "unless you have another idea". So Emma stepped forward, but not too close to the siren. "We are looking for a man named Killian Jones. He died recently. I need to find him."

Lorelei, for some reason, looked intently at Regina before shrugging and answering Emma, "ok. But I will want something in return. Nothing much, just a ride to your world. I can't summon the boat, you can. I want out." She extended a hand to Emma to shake on the deal.

Emma didn't see this as being a good thing to unleash on Storybrooke, but really, what choice is there? Emma shook the hand and was amazed by the sense of an electric current that came from touching the sirens hand. "Take us to Hook".


	2. Chapter 2

**Couldn't sleep, decided to write more. I am having fun with this. Never realized how much longer it takes to type out stories than to just think them ;) Reviews are appreciated, I'm new to this, I want to make sure I am doing things well!**

Chapter 2

"Ok!" Lorelei rubbed her hands together excitedly. "First off, how about I drop my presence just a little. This way Rumple can lower the shield on these boys, and himself and we can all work out a plan". Lorelei didn't seem to do anything but looked to Rumple with a sort of expectant look.

"There is no chance of me dropping my own shield dearie, I remember what happened last time I ran in to you. It will save me a bit of energy however to drop theirs." He waved towards Henry and David and presumably removed their shields.

"I feel the same. What exactly just happened?" David asked.

"Sirens have a sort of… aura. It's a natural gift for them. They call it a presence, because when you are in their presence you can't help but be infatuated with them. Some choose to drop the presence in order to maintain a somewhat normal behavior from men, some amplify it in order to drive men a bit crazy. Too strong a presence will ultimately drive a man to stop eating, drinking and eventually breathing just so they may focus on the sirens more thoroughly." Gold glanced at Lorelei then with a somewhat disgusted face. "And this presence can also give the sirens the ability to make you do whatever she wants you to do."

Henry shifted his feet and blushed rather intensely, obviously thinking of things that shouldn't be thought of.

"No worries, boy. Sirens only force people into action when absolutely necessary. And really Rumple, you make it sound like we just go around making men die and that hasn't even happened in nearly 200 years".

"Only men? Can you not control women? Is it based by gender or sexual orientation?" Regina was suddenly very curious about this woman's abilities.

Lorelei again gave her a brilliant smile, "It's not based on anything, actually. Sirens do not enchant men on purpose, mostly it helps get them to go away. We have no interest in men, except in the fact that men are needed to reproduce with women in order to make more women. Therefore when we cross paths with a man, it is easier for them to be enchanted and then told to go away than to deal with them in a civil way."

Emma was just a little confused by all of this but also a little intrigued. "You send all men away? So, what about, you know, reproducing? Little baby sirens?"

At this Lorelei wrinkled her nose and Emma thought she nearly gagged at the thought. "No. No reproducing or babies. That's a human thing. It's disgusting actually. Sirens don't reproduce. There are exactly 1,000 sirens. Always have been and always will be." She held up a hand to Regina "No sirens are not immortal. Well, one is, the queen. Sirens are simply reborn. When a siren is killed or dies in some way they are simply reborn in the birthing pools. They climb out and go about their way. We do like to have a bit of fun however, very entertaining with the ladies. Hence the need to not kill all the men. Men help create ladies." She finished as if this explained everything.

David looked thoroughly confused by this however, "wait, the ladies? What would a siren want with women?" Snow was red faced as she shushed him and whispered something in his ear. "OH! Oh, ok… right, yeah that makes sense. Ok. I'm not asking anymore questions." He put his red face down too.

"Yeah fun. A thousand half ass immortal lesbians. Got it. So back to this finding Hook thing?" Emma was a little impatient apparently. She didn't seem upset by the lesbian race though, that was interesting enough to make Regina stop questioning the siren.

"Hook. Killian Jones. Right." Lorelei raised her arms as if about to do something, then lowered them with a look of curiosity about her face. "Why are we finding this dead man?"

With another eyeroll Regina was the one to answer, "because he died snuffing out the darkness from the world, saved everybody and was actually tricked by Rumple so Emma (being in love with him) has decided we need to save him and bring him back to life." She crossed her arms and looked out into the nothingness.

With a look of utter boredom Lorelei simply said "uh huh". She looked at Rumple who shrugged a bit and smirked. "I see. And how, exactly, do you intend to bring him back to life?"

"I will give him half of my heart". Emma stood tall and stubborn looking into the sirens eyes as if daring her to challenge the idea.

"Uh huh." Lorelei began to pace a bit tapping her chin with a finger while frowning slightly.

Regina meanwhile was a bit lost in her own thoughts. Why did Robin stay behind? Why didn't it hurt? She couldn't imagine letting Henry or Emma go into the underworld without her. This is the sort of things family did for each other. Maybe he didn't think of her as family in the same way she thought of them. _When did I start putting Emma in the same category as Henry? Well she is his mother I guess. Would I have let the charmings go? Probably not. They would have fallen off the boat and drowned before ever reaching shore. I suppose this means these people are my family. And Robin…?_ She shook her head to clear the thoughts. Not really the best time to be pondering things like this. Refocusing on her surroundings, she realized she was standing right behind Emma. She quickly stepped back a few steps, hoping no one had noticed.

Henry was the only one who had seen her suddenly be right behind Emma, but he didn't understand why and so just let it go. "That is possible right? For them to share a heart? They did it, after all". He pointed towards Snow and David.

"Yeah, some people can share a heart. True loves and all that." Lorelei was still pacing a bit. Finally she stopped and walked up to Emma, staring very intently into her eyes. "Ok, if finding this guy will get me out of the underworld, then let's find him." Before Regina could blink, Lorelei was right in front of her.

"What are you doing?". Regina refused to move, no matter how uncomfortable this woman made her.

"I need you to think of Killian."

"No, Emma loves him, not me. I hate him. Do try to keep up dear." Regina crossed her arms and looked at the siren like the idiot she obviously was.

"Ah yes, but see, you have very strong emotions. I have a feeling your emotions are a little intense even." Lorelei said.

Someone huffed as if this was an understatement but Regina couldn't quite tell who. "Fine. I am imagining him. Complete with odor and arrogance." And then something did happen. Electricity.

All at once, it was as if a strike of lightening hit in the middle of their group and it was over so quickly Regina actually thought she imagined it. That is until she rubbed her eyes to try and rid them of the white streak she was seeing. It was as if there really had been lightening. But how?

"What was that?" Emma was rubbing her eyes too and it felt like every hair on her body was standing on end. "Was that lightening? What the hell?" Regina was finally able to see clearly again and looked to see where everyone was. Except everyone wasn't.

"Henry?! Emma, where's Henry?" Emma in turn began blinking her eyes rapidly searching for Henry. But he wasn't where they were, which was someplace other than the open plain.

Regina was searching around frantically, they were in a cave maybe of some sort. There was the same dim lighting but they were surrounded by rock in every direction. They stood at a dead end, a single tunnel leading onward to a curve. Emma reached Regina and took her hand to try and calm her down.

"Hey calm down, Regina. We'll find him. And us, we'll find us too. Maybe we should find out where we are and then Henry will be where we are going…?" That didn't really make sense but she was panicking too.

Regina felt Emma take her hand and stared at it for a few moments while the blonde rambled something at her. Snapping out of the slight shock of contact, she calmed a bit. "Yes. We will find a way out of wherever we are and then Henry." She took a step towards the tunnel, "Oh and not to mention, causing a certain siren to be reborn."

"Maybe Snow and David are with him?"

Regina stopped and looked at her before moving on again towards the tunnel, she hadn't actually noticed they were missing also. Rumple she hoped landed in some fire pit. "Yes, they would be better than alone for him I suppose."

Meanwhile, in a very similar rock like cavern, Snow and David were trying to calm themselves down. Henry was not with them. Neither was Lorelei or Rumple. "He took Henry, I know he did. Somehow he got that siren woman to get rid of us so Rumple could steal Henry." David was trying to think of why but was coming up a little empty handed.

Snow took his hand and they headed for the tunnel in front of them that curved out of sight. "David, why would he steal Henry? And the sirens hate men. Why would she help him to steal another boy?"

"She could've lied. It would make more sense wouldn't it? Sirens probably kill women to keep the men to themselves."

"Is it really so hard to believe that a race of females who have no need to reproduce would rather, be intimate, with women than with men?" Snow didn't see this as being hard to believe. At least women didn't have stubble faces. Personally she preferred men in bed, but she could still see the appeal.

"I don't know. I guess I don't really want to think of how men are only good for reproducing". David looked a little offended actually.

Snow laughed a little, "Oh no, men are good for lots of things. Opening jars, reaching the high shelves. Although I guess some women are strong, and tall…" At the look of hurt on Davids face Snow laughed a little and kissed him lightly, "I'm just kidding, I love you. Men are good for lots of things." Another kiss and he didn't think to wonder why she couldn't elaborate.

Henry cleared his eyes, "was that lightening?" At the sound of no response he quickly opened his eyes to see no one around. His heart beat faster as the panic set in a little. He was in a cave of some sort. One tunnel. And alone. He ran towards the tunnel hoping beyond all reason someone would be around the corner.

Rumple opened his eyes only to find Lorelei staring at him a little too much like a lion eyeing a steak. "What did you do?"

"I sent them to the caves. Why did you bring them here?"

"They asked me to bring them here to find the pirate."

Stepping closer, Lorelei was nose to nose with the man. "Why did you bring them here?"

The dark one smirked his smirk and disappeared in a cloud of magic. Lorelei paced a bit, nervously wondering what the imp could be up to. She stopped when she felt it again. The feeling of being watched. The humans didn't feel it of course. Sirens were far more sensitive to the worlds. And none were more sensitive than the siren queen. She glanced in the direction of the unseen eyes and knew that Hades did not approve of her sending them to the caves. It was the one place he couldn't reach them. As she stood up straight and cocked an eyebrow, he eyes flashed silver and every rune on her body began to glow and she disappeared in a strike of lightening.


	3. Chapter 3

**As always, I own nothing of OUAT. If I did, SQ would have been canon halfway through S1:E1 ;)**

Chapter 3

Regina and Emma had walked the tunnels in silence for at least an hour. Time was difficult to figure out due to no sun or moon to assist in the guessing. For the most part, they thought of Henry. Each woman lost in their own thoughts and hopes and fears. Eventually however, the panic subsided into a worry and Emma felt it was far too quiet between the two.

"So. The underworld sucks pretty hard at this point". Emma tried to think of a conversation starter but really, she was terrible at it. To prove this fact, Regina glanced at her and simply kept walking. _Wow, not even an eye roll. Think Swan…. Something to get her mind a little lighter. Something, casual. Simple. Light._ "I can't believe Robin stayed behind". _What the hell Swan?_ Emma grimaced and braced for Regina's likely rage, but Regina just stopped and looked at Emma in that penetrating way she does.

"He does what's right, Emma. It wouldn't be right for him to leave his children in Storybrooke just to endanger his life here." She furrowed her brows looking at the rocks around them. "I don't really think we are going anywhere. I think this is some vast maze that can't be gotten out of. I can feel the magic in the rocks and I'm quite sure walking is pointless."

Emma could feel something too but hadn't lingered on the feeling too much. "If you don't think walking will get us out, then why are we walking?"

"I've just been trying to feel the magic, trying to figure it out. There must be a trigger to activating it, to make it release us. I just can't quite see it." Regina saw the look of considering on Emma and decided she must have gotten her mind away from Robin. He was the last thing she needed to be thinking of right now.

Emma put one hand on the rocks and she could feel magic, but it was unseen to her too. "Should we try blowing through it with magic?"

This time Regina did roll her eyes, "No, we are in close quarters. The most likely effect would be blowing ourselves to pieces." Regina sat down on the ground and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes.

Emma watched her for a few minutes then took a seat next to her. They sat in silence for too long before Emma needed to speak again. "sooooo, now what?"

"I don't know. Sit here and try to think of something productive?"

After a few more minutes passed Emma decided to try the conversation thing again. "Have you ever heard of a siren?"

"Only in stories. And we all know how reliable those can be". Trying to recall the stories she had heard as a child Regina realized that her childhood stories and the ones of Emma's were likely the same. "Beautiful women singing amongst the rocks in the ocean. Ships of men steering into the rocks because they are so entranced by the sirens song. Death, drowning."

Emma nodded, "yep, that's what I heard too. Lorelei said sirens haven't killed men in like 200 years though. She wasn't singing either. And, I mean, yeah she was good looking and all, but she wasn't what I would consider "entrancing"."

Regina looked at her a bit sideways then and asked, "And what would you know about an entrancing woman?"

Emma thought for a good answer for a few seconds. "You know, like a woman so beautiful that you catch yourself staring at her, completely lost in thought. A woman so enthralling that she fills your mind even when you haven't seen her in days". Emma shrugged a bit and added, "and she would have to be stacked too, like just oozing sexy vibes."

Right up until the last part Regina thought Emma actually had a bit of depth. _So close_ , she thought sarcastically. "Well, Henry and Charming certainly seemed a bit taken with her."

Emma snorted, "yeah until she dropped her presence magic aura thing. Then they were just indifferent to her appearance."

Regina laughed a little and added, "definitely no thinking about her for days then."

Emma laughed with her then and the mood lifted a bit from them. Looking back down the tunnel in the direction they were heading, Emma thought something was different. Regina saw her looking and looked also. "Emma, the tunnel. It was always turning to the right, now it is heading left".

Both women jumped up and started heading towards the tunnel. Nothing looked different other than the direction. "Well, it's something I guess." Regina took a deep breath and they headed down the tunnel, to the left.

Henry had been running forever it seemed to him. Finally he couldn't keep his legs working anymore and collapsed on the floor of the tunnel. Rolling onto his back he worked on leveling his breathing. The strength was returning quickly and he was standing again in just a few minutes. He suddenly felt perfectly fine, it had only been a few minutes, maybe ten. Confused, he just started walking down the tunnels again. They always turned to the right. They always looked the same. "This is useless". He said to no one.

"Talking to yourself is a sign of madness you know".

Henry spun around in every direction. He had heard a voice. He had. He wasn't crazy. "Who said that? Where are you? Please, I'm lost." Staring down a tunnel, he didn't see the man come from the one behind him.

"You, are very lost."

Henry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He was nearly too afraid to turn around. He knew someone was behind him now.

"You don't need to be afraid of me, boy. I can help you get out of this cave. You cannot find your own way out, it's designed for two people to work their way out of. Never one. Whoever sent you here left you to wander for eternity." Henry turned around slowly then… And very nearly wished he hadn't. The man standing there was terrifying. He must have been six and a half foot tall, and had a serious thing for black. He wore black chainmail, black armor and beneath the armor was black leather. He had black hair, and black fingernails that were at least four inches long. He was the strongest looking man Henry could imagine, muscles straining at chain and leather. The contrast of the black armor to his skin was numbing however. His face and neck were pale, bloodless. No color touched his cheeks. Henry finally made it to the mans eyes and his own blood seemed to freeze in his veins. He didn't have eyes. The sockets were there, but only flames danced in the recess of his skull where eyes should have been.

The look of terror and shock on the boy must have amused the man because he let out a toothy laugh. Flashing his black and yellow jagged, and broken teeth for Henry to see. "I know, I'm not much to look at. No worries though, I'm not here to hurt you, just to help you out a bit." He moved quicker then Henry could follow and before he knew it the man had his massive hand wrapped around Henry's upper arm. Henry had a thought to struggle, but dismissed it almost instantly. This guy was monstrous.

"Close your eyes", the man instructed him and Henry obeyed. "There now, isn't this better?"

Henry opened his eyes about to ask what he was talking about when he took a look around. He was out of the cave. Very, out of the cave. They stood on a castle battlement, nauseatingly high above the ground. Below was a castle that looked as if it were made of black steel, shiny but hard. There was a massive clearing all around the foot of the castle and beyond that was a ring of darkness that Henry couldn't see into. It smelled like fireworks. The sky was the same as it had been on the plains. Nothing, just dimly lit. "Where are we? Who are you? Where are my moms?"

"This, my boy, is called Tartarus. Your people are on their way here, and I am called Hades." Hades threw his head back and laughed at the look of sheer terror on Henry's face as he struggled to free himself. "Stop trying, boy. Soon enough the living friends of yours will come to fetch you and I will finally get the last piece of my kingdom under my thumb."

Henry fought even though he knew it was useless, until darkness consumed him and his thoughts.

"EMMA!" Emma was so startled she nearly fell on her face tripping over her own feet.

"What Regina?"

"If you whistle one more note, I will magic your mouth shut, I swear I will".

"Oh, well I am so sorry that I don't like walking for hours in complete silence." Emma had tried a thousand times to get Regina to talk but beyond some eye rolls and scrunchy faces, it had remained futile. She had eventually given up and started whistling random tunes.

"Well I am so sorry I don't feel like making small talk while we wander hopelessly through a tunnel searching for a way out. Not to mention the fact that Henry could be anywhere right now. I am so sorry I don't want to talk about the weird weather, or the neat patterns on the rocks or any of the other idiotic topics you have picked".

Usually Emma would try to diffuse Regina's temper or at least reign in her own, but it had been a really long day… And so they commenced yelling at each other, standing toe to toe, nose to nose.

Emma took a deep breath and was about to tell Regina how stupid her heels looked for navigating the underworld, but she was stopped short when her back hit the wall. Regina was also about to remind Emma just how stupid she looked in that smelly red jacket, but her back also hit a wall.

Both women stopped yelling and instead took in their new surroundings. Very, small surroundings.

As Emma was feeling the wall behind her, Regina was doing the same to her own wall. "What did you do?" Regina pushed Emma's shoulder as she asked her.

"I, didn't do anything. You probably let your temper control your magic and decided to accidentally smash us". Emma was going to push her right back, but the walls did it for her. Both sides pushed inwards a bit. Enough to force Emma and Regina to be pressed against each others front.

"Oh, that's very nice. Good job, Saviour." Again the walls inch further in, it was getting difficult to breath, being pressed against one another so closely, "Look at what you've…" Regina's next bitter comments were cut short by Emma who had managed to wiggle her hand up to Regina's mouth, effectively stopping the brunette from speaking.

"Shh, Regina. I think I figured something out". Ignoring the furious look pouring out of the brown eyes, just a few inches from her own, Emma continued "Everytime we say something shitty at each other, we lose space. I don't know about you but I'm rather fond of breathing." Seeing the understanding in those angry brown eyes, Emma wiggled her hand back off of Regina's mouth.

"That actually makes sense. Which means, in order to increase our space, we should compliment instead of insult?" Regina waited for Emma to begin. She didn't. "Emma. You wanted to talk, so talk."

"Well now I don't know what to say."

"Compliment me".

"Like how?"

Regina frowned in irritation. "If you can't think of a compliment then just make something up."

"What? No, I don't mean I can't think of any compliments, there's a thousand good things about you. I just don't know what to say, I mean what's it going to take to back the walls up?"

A thousand? Regina was a little curious about that. She certainly couldn't think of a thousand good things about herself. Emma she could probably compliment all day. "Just say the first thing you can think of?"

"ok" Emma thought for a few seconds. She really did have a thousand complimenting things she could say, but with Regina body pressed against hers, only a few were coming to her mind and she really didn't think they would go over too well. "I don't know. You go first".

"Hmm? Oh, yes I suppose I can try too." Regina was trying very hard to not think about the fact that she could feel Emma's heartbeat in her own chest. "Ok. You smell… rather nice today." Regina raised her eyebrows slightly in hope.

"What? Is that a compliment? Because it kind of sounded made up. Or maybe like I usually smell bad but today it's tolerable. Not to mention that is a well known "creepy" comment to make."

"No, I mean you smell good, nearly always. You usually smell like a sort of mix between vanilla and leather. It's actually quite pleasant." Regina frowned and looked anywhere but at Emma.

The walls moved back just an inch or two. Both women beamed at each other triumphantly. "OK, your turn Emma. I think perhaps a bit of detail helps."

"Yeah. Well, I don't know if this counts, but you smell good too. Always, you smell like apples and a seriously intoxicating perfume." Emma thought for a minute and when the walls didn't move she added, "But you don't just smell good, you always look good too. Always so well dressed and perfect hair and perfect makeup. Just perfect a lot". When the walls inched back again Regina finally looked in to the green eyes, she didn't see humor or sarcasm. Just sort of honesty.

"Well…" Regina cleared her throat before going on, "I work very hard to maintain my appearance. Thank you for appreciating the effort I put in to it." She nodded a bit before going on, "I appreciate how hard you work on your family. When you found your parents, and before that when you found Henry. I can't imagine anyone working so hard for something. It's impressive."

Emma smiled as Regina tried to resemble a professional, even when saying such sweet things. "Regina, I really did work hard to keep my family. And I hope you know that includes you."

"What?"

"Your Henry's mother. You raised the son I couldn't have. You're the reason I'm here, well not _here_ here. I mean in Storybrooke. I would have ran a long time ago if you hadn't pushed me."

"Emma I tried to push you away, and out of Storybrooke."

"Yeah at first. But eventually you were more like pulling than pushing." Emma smiled at her shuffled her feet a bit.

"I tend to hang on to things I find valuable. And you, Emma, are irreplaceable. I had to keep you around."

Emma laughed a little and Regina joined in. "You kept me like a diamond, that's kinda nice".

"Yes, well…" She cut herself short as she saw that the tunnel had returned to normal size again. "Emma, it worked."

Emma broke her eyes away from the other woman and looked around. "Yeah, should we keep going?" It had been a while and weird since they were walking, they didn't know which direction to head off in. But Emma was eager to move somewhere, to shake the nervousness in her chest. She hadn't thought about Regina as more than a friend for a very long time, it had become pretty obvious that Regina would never let any other relationship happen with her. Still, she felt those old feelings welling up inside her again…"Does it matter?"

"Probably not." Regina sighed.

Emma's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't meant to say anything out loud. Her heart hammered in her chest as she searched her mind for how much she had said out loud.

"Wait." Regina saw something, a shadow maybe down a tunnel to her right. "I saw something, hurry up". Regina ran towards the tunnel, Emma close behind her sighing in relief as she realized Regina had heard the last part and taken it as a question of direction. As the ran through the tunnels they didn't see anything new, but there was a sound beginning to get louder. At first it was rather indistinctive, only a few notes reaching them, but as they ran it got louder until a full orchestra could be heard. "It's getting louder, we must be getting close to whatever it is".

Emma was so focused on the sound that she didn't see Regina stop suddenly which resulted in crashing into her… again. "Emma really, you need to stop falling for me." Regina winked at Emma with a weird little smile while she helped her up off the ground. Fortunately Regina didn't see her blush at the comment because she was focused on the scene before her. And what a scene it was…

The cave mouth had opened up onto a massive beach. The sands stretched to the left and right in front of an infinitely high rock wall to the left and right. About a half mile wide, and then it collided with an ocean. The water was a violent shade of blue that was a little shocking after so much dim lighting. There was a sun here, and wind. It didn't feel like the underworld at all. If this had been the only thing in front of them, they may have recovered from the shock quickly.

All over the beach, in both directions, were women. They were covered head to toe in runes, just like Lorelei. The difference was where she had silver, they were gold. Golden runes, golden hair and golden eyes. They all were about the same size and body shape, but had different hair cuts. And there wasn't a stitch of clothing to be found.

"Oh my god…" Emma was staring. Slack jawed, eyes wide, staring.

Regina wasn't thinking of the flesh parade however, it was the music that had her perplexed. "Emma, there are no speakers, no instruments."

"So?" Still she stared.

Regina rolled her eyes, more than a little irritated. "So, where is the music coming from. I'm sure you can tell it isn't coming from their chests by now. You've been studying them."

Emma snapped her mouth shut and cleared her throat. "Actually, it is coming from them. So thank you very much." Emma had realized as she stared that some women were dancing in time to certain instruments in the music.

Regina realized it too and had to admit that Emma probably needed to watch them to figure that out. It did not stop her from feeling jealous that Emma _enjoyed_ discovering this. She threw her hands up, "so now we are on an impossible beach, surrounded by naked musical… sirens?"

"I guess so" Emma was trying not to grin.

"So what the hell do we do now?"

Emma did smile then. "Dance with me?" She grabbed Regina's hand and made her run towards the sirens before she could protest.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own nothing of OUAT, just my rendition thereof. Reviews are appreciated, I try to make my chapters about 3k words. I don't know if that is too long or too short, let me know what you think. I had some weird issues posting this chapter, if you had issues reading it i apologize. It was most likely my fault.  
**

Chapter 4

Regina stumbled after Emma who was pulling her towards the dancing sirens, "Emma, stop! You have no idea what these things are capable of! And I am about to break an ankle!"

Emma did stop and realized Regina was in fact wearing heel on a beach. "Oh, sorry, take them off."

Regina, not amused, replied "I will not. And I am certainly not dancing with what I'm assuming is 999 naked sirens either." She crossed her arms and glared at Emma.

As soon as she had finished speaking however, silver sparks rained over the mass of golden women and they were clothed all at once in the same white fabric that Lorelei had been. Some in tanks tops and shorts, some in dresses or skirts even. "There, now dance with her."

Both women turned to see Lorelei beaming at the sirens all around. Without missing a beat, Regina launched at the siren, landing on top of her with fists clutching the front of her tank top. "Where is our son?!"

Lorelei didn't seem to mind Regina tackling her however, as she was simply a lopsided grin. "Why, Regina, I knew you'd come around." Lorelei wrapped her arms around Regina and flipped them over quicker than lightening. "For future reference however, I prefer topsies".

Emma was pretty done at this point and physically removed Lorelei from Regina who was still a little shocked from the movements. "Knock it off, and answer the question." Regina and Emma stood in front of Lorelei and demanded an answer.

"He's in the caves, just like you two were, I will send someone to get him." She motioned to a siren and whispered something to her, the woman disappeared in a flash of gold immediately. "There. Now back to the rolling in the sand?"

Both women glared at her hard enough that she put her hands up in mock surrender. "Fine. No cuddles then. It will take a bit of time to find the boy, while we wait, how about you return my charm?" She looked at Emma pointedly.

"Uh, yeah well it hit the ground and disappeared." Emma was genuinely confused by the question.

Lorelei rolled her eyes and reached for Emma's chest. Regina was quicker and smacked her hand down "Keep your hands to yourself or I will find a way to liberate you from them."

Lorelei smirked but pointed to Emma's chest. "My charm in under your shirt darling. Let me help a bit." She winked and the two women were showered in silver sparks. When they were gone Emma was in the white tank and shorts, Regina in a white dress.

Irritated, but curious, Emma pulled the top of her tank out a bit and shrieked. "What the hell?!"

"What is it?" Regina moved to look down her shirt but Emma very quickly closed the gap. Blushing slightly at what she had very nearly done Regina frowned at Emma and repeated herself, "what is it?"

"A silver tattoo, of a violin." Emma rubbed above her left breast as if it might come off.

Lorelei laughed, "you have to pull it off Emma, or let me do it. Want to know which way I prefer?" She finished with a wink.

Emma just frowned at the siren and pulled her tank down just enough to see the mark. It was exactly like she said, it was a tiny silver violin. Identical to the silver charm Rumple had tossed at her. "How did it get on me?"

"When you summoned me I stuck it there so I could find you if I needed to."

"Just pull it off Emma, I don't' want her tracking us when we try to leave her behind." Regina smiled sweetly at Lorelei who only smiled back.

"ok." Emma put her fingers on the mark and closed her eyes, willing it to pop off. Surprisingly, it did just that. In just a moment she was looking at a tiny silver violin in the palm of her hand.

"Thank you", Lorelei took it from her and pulled down her own tank top at the upper left breast. There was a blank spot amongst the runes and when she put the charm against the skin it sank in and became like the other silver markings on her body. "Ah yes, it has been too long I think." She closed her eyes and smiled a genuinely happy smile. "And now, you need to dance a little I think". She gave a salacious grin and raised her arms, as she did so, her silver runes began to glow, radiating light from the violin on her chest. There was a sound coming from her, at first as though hearing it through water and then clarifying. When she began playing her song, several other sirens began dancing, creating more music to accompany her violin.

The result was intoxicatingly beautiful. Emma took Regina (and her now bare feet) by the hands and they began to dance. At first Regina was confused because she simply couldn't dance so gracefully, but she soon came to the conclusion that the sirens must be helping out due to the fact that Emma was also incredibly graceful. Emma took the lead and soon they were spinning and swinging around in a mesmerizing dance. The two womens bodies seemed to move in perfect timing to each other, and to the sirens swirling around them. The violin was the key of this concert and it felt to Regina like it was playing a song directly into her heart. She could not only hear the notes, she could feel them. She was also feeling Emma's hands and arms and sometimes her chest pressed to her back as they danced to the beautiful beat all around them. When the music stopped very suddenly, the two women were nearly nose to nose and breathing hard. Regina was very aware of Emma's arm around her waist and the other hand holding hers. They stared at one another and Regina had to remind herself yet again, that Emma was risking her life to find Hook and they were only friends. Emma didn't want anything more than that and Regina had worked very hard to maintain that she never felt anything more for her.

Emma stared into the deep brown eyes, the same ones she dreamed about so long ago… And still did on occasion. _Friends, Emma. Always friends. That's all she wants. Don't look at her lips…_

Regina didn't miss the way Emma glanced at her lips. She darted her tongue out to moisten her lips before she could stop herself. _Maybe just once…._

"EMMA! REGINA!" The two women sprang apart as if burned, both blushing furiously as they turned to see who had shouted. Snow rushed towards them absolutely radiating happiness.

"Mom, dad." Emma nodded at her father who was trying to catch up to Snow. He was having trouble with the sand under his boots though.

"You seriously do not deserve help right now, but you look ridiculous." Lorelei wore a slight grimace as she looked at David and then silver sparks covered him and Snow, changing Snow into a slightly longer version of Regina's dress, and David into a t-shirt and pants.

"Hey, why didn't I get a tank top?" David asked as he shrugged in his shirt.

"Because no one wants to see more of you." Lorelei stated matter-of-factly. A golden siren appeared in a flash next to Lorelei, presumably the same one she sent for Henry. Lorelei's faced darkened considerably as the smaller siren spoke. When she was done she instantly vanished in a golden flash looking fearful.

"What is it? Where is Henry?" Regina and Emma talked over each other staring at Lorelei.

"These two were the only beings in the caves. That means someone removed Henry." Lorelei began pacing and tapping her chin the way she did when in thought. "There are only two things that could have gotten him out of there. Rumple or…." She trailed off as she took on a look of anger. "No, I can track him. It was Hades."

Everyone began hammering at the siren with questions ranging from who is Hades to where is he and how do we kill him. "stopstopstop". Lorelei put her hands up and squeezed her eyes shut. When it was quiet again she opened her eyes and lowered her hands. "Hades is the ruler of the underworld. He thinks he is stronger than me, I think I'm stronger than him so we call it equal. He is also immortal, like me."

"I thought only the queen siren was immortal?" Emma questioned.

"I am the queen. Notice how there are, oh, about 999 golden sirens and I'm the only silver one? I'm also the only one who can produce the violin. And my siren song is way more powerful, but I will save that for later."

"Ok. You're the most powerful queen of the sirens violin playing singer of the underworld. Hades is the all powerful ruler of the underworld. What would he want with Henry?" Regina was starting to feel a little like drowning. There had been too much emotion today. Too much loss and too much hurt. Too many repressed thoughts and emotions edging their way to the surface. _I actually considered kissing her…_

"That's the thing. He must have wanted Henry pretty badly to trespass on my lands. A very, very long time ago, thousands of years, tens of thousands of years ago in fact, Hades and I fought one another every second of every day. Our battle raged on for centuries. In the meantime, the underworld and the spirits here were left to their own devices. It was complete chaos. My sirens battled his demons and the spirits battled each other endlessly. Imagine dying only to find yourself thrown into a war that can't be won _or_ lost." Lorelei had a look of honest sorrow and regret now. Her confidence was gone and her shoulders slumped a bit as she continued. "I was fairly new to existence. I don't know how I was created or how the other sirens were or why I'm different so do not ask."

Snow snapped her mouth shut.

"Anyway, I was relatively young. All I knew is that Hades hadn't treated the dead very well. The underworld was just one big pit of eternal misery. I decided to take him on and liberate the dead. I was going to make the underworld a paradise for the dead. He argued that people didn't deserve paradise. I argued that people didn't deserve to be eternally tortured. And so the war commenced."

Regina was nodding slightly at this point and she added, "and since all the participants were dead, except you and Hades who are immortal, the war _could_ never end."

"Exactly. There couldn't be a winner because when you kill a spirit, it just sort of poofs out, regenerates and keeps fighting. You can sort of, undo them. If you behead the spirit they do take a few minutes, maybe ten to regenerate. Again I don't know why." She rose her eyebrows at Snow who again closed her mouth on her questions. "Demons are basically spirits that were such vile humans in life that they turn into darkness upon death. No special abilities, just scary looking things who will always serve Hades instead of me."

"The people who become demons always serve Hades, does that mean spirits always have a choice?" Regina was a bit concerned over her own death now. She had changed, but was it enough?

"Yes. Always a choice. In those days the choice was fight for him or fight for me."

"And now? Who won in a battle that couldn't be won?" Emma asked.

"Well, nobody won really. At some point Hades and I just sort of stopped swinging at each other. We instead made a deal. The underworld is naturally broken into three areas so we immediately decided he would take the dark hot sort of "evil feeling" part, and I would take the bright sun shiny lively side. The middle ground was a bit of a debate. It almost amounted into another war, both of us wanting a third more area than the other. In the end we decided it would be neither mine nor his. After that agreement was struck, the bad people are sent to him for punishment, I get the good ones. The halfwayish not good not evil types get to chill on the plains." Lorelei was pacing again, deep in thought.

"Ok, we saw the plains, where we landed at. And this must be the happy place. Hades domain must be where Henry is." Regina pieced it together and probably would have ran right into the darkest pit of the underworld right that second if she could decide how to get there. Lorelei just nodded absently as she spoke.

"Where's the people?" Everyone turned to Snow as she spoke. "What? People have been dying forever, but we haven't seen anything but sirens and us." Realizing she was right, Emma turned to Lorelei.

"That's a good one, where are the dead?" _Hook,_ Emma though, _remember him? The reason you're here?_

"The spirits are not where we are, this is a gateway to the living world. Spirits aren't allowed here, they might try to get back to the living world and that is how ghosts and poltergeists happened. During the war quite a few escaped. I never bothered to fetch them, but a few stories get to us here about their activities." Lorelei looked a little entertained at the memories of the escaped souls. "However, your question is a timely one. We need to fetch your boy, and to do that, I get to play war again. It's actually a favorite game to play when the spirits get bored. They can't really die again, and the people on the plains seem to get bored so we go to war with the spirits locked in Tartarus."

"Tartarus. That's Hades realm. I remember that from school. Not much else though. Actually I thought Tartarus was the underworld. Greek mythology I think." Emma seemed to be thinking out loud.

"Well I might know the answer but the mayor banned mythology from the schools and basically storybrooke." Snow looked pointedly at Regina who simply gave her a blank stare back.

"So Hades isn't going to mind if you take your people to war against his?" David didn't mind a good fight, but he wasn't trying to amp up another multi century dead people war either.

"Ah, part of our deal after the wars was a magic agreement. He and I can walk into each others land freely, but we can't use our magic there, except to leave. No magicking in, on or around each other's lands, but we can walk in and magic out. Which, s how he got Henry. He must have walked into the caves, found Henry's and magicked them both out. I can take people to fight his people all I want, they enjoy it sometimes. But, I can't use my magic against anyone or anything or even at all, except to leave."

"Because your magic is the only threat he really has, even your sirens wouldn't stand a chance against him?" Regina questioned.

"Nope, he would send them to be reborn in about half a second". Lorelei smiled fondly at a few nearby sirens. "SO! Let's get us an army shall we?" She clapped her hands together and in another blinding flash of lightening, they opened their eyes to find themselves somewhere familiar, yet different.

"Oh my god" Snow gasped as she clung to David's arm. "It's Storybrooke." And it was, except a Storybrooke in a very great need of repairs. The library was nearly leveled, the clock was demolished and barely recognizable.

"What is this? How could this have happened?" Regina looked around in a sort of daze at her town completely baffled.

"This is not actually Storybrooke" Lorelei rushed to tell them. "It is a sort of reverse image. The people of the plains can create things they remember from life, they can also wield any abilities they possessed in life." She smiled the most seductive of smiles just then as she said, "And one came to us not so very long ago who felt like this was needed on our plain." Everyone turned to see what the siren was grinning at.

Regina was the first to break out of the shocked state and managed to choke out a strangled sounding "Mother" before she nearly collapsed. Luckily Emma was close enough to catch her and help her stay standing. The strong arms around her pulled her back to focus enough to realize she wasn't imagining this. Her mother, Cora Mills, was standing in the street. And she was just smiling so happily. Wearing a somewhat elegant gown. Cora wouldn't even be caught dead in anything other than the finest clothes.

"Regina! What on earth are you doing here?" Cora smiled as she approached the group. She stopped just short of everyone however. "I would give you a hug dear but I'm dead. So I can't."

At the questioning look on everyone face, Lorelei stepped next to Cora and explained "The dead are sort of, well ghost like. They can't touch the living, pass right through". To demonstrate, Cora wave her hand through Regina's arm. "But, I happen to be very skilled and not only can us sirens touch them and them us…" She took Cora by the hand and Cora put her hand on Regina's arm, this time making solid contact.

Regina didn't need another invitation. She was overwhelmed with unspoken feelings leftover from Cora's death. She threw her arms around Cora and hugged her as tightly as she could. Cora closed her eyes and smiled in a most contented way as she used her free hand to soothe up and down Regina's back. "I understand dear. And I love you too. I got to keep my heart in my death you know." Regina pulled back and wiped her tears.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you mother. If we had know what your heart would do for you…" Regina broke off in an attempt to stop the flow of tears.

"I know. But you did what you thought you had to. And really it wasn't you…" She trailed off as she looked daggers towards where Snow stood in silence. She looked ready to hide behind David at any moment.

"No, mother. She did what she thought was right, and trust me, she is sorry for her actions."

"I am Cora, I really am." Snow grimaced, fearing Cora was going to berate her and make her feel even worse than she always had for what she did.

Cora waved the comments away and turned back to Regina, "whatever child. I'm over it."

Regina laughed a bit, "I see you have learned a few phrases since dying?"

Cora beamed at her daughter, "I have learned so much since I died. It's been wonderful, really. I got here and created a Storybrooke, I have met plenty of interesting souls, I have a new lover, I have waged wars I…"

Cora was interrupted by a "What?!" In unison from Emma and Regina.

Cora looked at them wide eyed, "What's wrong? Oh! Yes, well Storybrooke is in a bit of disrepair at the moment from the last battle, but don't worry I will fix it soon enough."

"No, mother, not Storybrooke, the lover part."

"Oh." Cora bit her lower lip and smiled up at Lorelei, "Well she was simply enchanting, I couldn't help but entertain her attempts to seduce me." Lorelei smiled at her in a way that made Emma just a little sick.

"Are you serious? She's a siren. She's manipulative. She's… she's…" Regina stammered a bit and Cora interrupted.

"Oh Regina, she's a she. Not a big deal and if I recall the stories I've heard, you didn't exactly turn down _every_ woman who approached the evil queen." Regina blushed and Emma stared at her.

"Seriously?" Emma asked her.

"Well that's enough family catch up time. Where's the army? Get it and let's go get my son." Regina was definitely done talking about her past love life.

"Oh, you're here for the army?" Cora was nearly giddy when she asked Lorelei, "Are we going to war with the demon horde? Or the tortured masses?"

"Maybe both. Hades took their son" Lorelei gestured at Regina and Emma.

"That son of a bitch." Cora did look intense now. "I just finished a battle for Storybrooke so it will be another 30 minutes or so before all the troops have recollected themselves and we fix the city. And then, we march!" Cora gave Lorelei a quick kiss on the cheek and held her skirts up as she hurried off towards the town hall building.

Lorelei was smiling watching her go and then sighed and said, "I didn't know she was your mother Regina. No wonder I was so fond of you when first I laid eyes on you." She held up her hand in Regina's face, "No no, darling, we cannot. I am sorry, but I love your mother too much. You will have to go on with your life without me. But know this, I will always remember our romp on the beach and hold it in my heart."

Regina crossed her arms on her chest and looked daggers at the siren, "I will do my best to move on." Oozing sarcasm, causing Emma to giggle.

"Emma, do fill in for me with Regina here, she will be very lonely and distraught…" She stated before she strutted off towards town hall. She turned around dramatically and added, "oh, Emma, don't let her fool you, she prefers to rule from below you." She continued her strut up the street.

Emma laughed a bit more as Regina blushed in a very furious way. She too stalked off, but not towards town hall. She went towards the diner instead. It may have been habit, but Emma did hope the diner had coffee. She wasn't hungry or thirsty, but the diner was one of her favorite places in Storybrooke so she followed Regina.

Snow and David decided neither destination looked too welcoming and instead voted to sit on the bench by the store fronts instead.

No one noticed that a light was on in Gold's half caved in pawn shop…

 **The violin/dance scene is something I imagine nearly daily. I'm not very good at painting the picture, but if you listen to the song, maybe you can see it like I do? The song is Senbonzakura, and the performance of this song by Lindsey Stirling is what I hear when I think of that particular scene. It's worth a listen at least once. I recommend the video without people to prevent painting the wrong pictures.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Lindsey stirling or the song. I do own a violin.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to those who have left reviews! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it. As always, I own nothing of OUAT. If I get a lawsuit I will fully assume it's because the owners of OUAT are jealous ;)**

Chapter 5

Emma followed Regina into the diner. It wasn't clean, or brightly lit as it was in the living realm, but it was essentially the same. The two women sat down across from each other at a booth. The place was empty except for them, apparently in a realm where eating and drinking is not needed, neither were waitresses. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Regina seemed to stop fuming with anger.

"I guess I didn't consider I would run into my mother here".

"Yeah I really didn't think about it either. Everyone who has died would be here I suppose." Emma shrugged, she really didn't want to think about all the dead people that they could encounter. Regina glanced at Emma and waved her hand over the table. Two hot cups of coffee appeared, one in front of each woman. "Hey thanks!". Emma started sipping at hers.

"I have no idea what happens when we eat or drink here…" Regina sipped her own coffee. "But it's more for mood I think anyway."

"So. Your mom, and the siren."

Regina made a bitter face. "It's not that my mother is having a relationship with a woman, or a siren woman. It's the idea of my mother being intimate with anyone that is unbelievable in it's own. It's… I don't know, just…"

"It's creepy to think of your mom getting freaky". Emma nodded with a small laugh.

"Yes. I was trying to think of a slightly more eloquent wording for it but that's exactly it. The lesbian thing I couldn't care less about."

"Have you ever…" Emma trailed off with a blush. She couldn't believe she just asked her that.

Regina didn't blush though. It really wasn't a big deal. "Back in the evil queen days I had… well… more than a few bedmates. Some were women, some men. They were all meaningless and one night rendezvous." She sipped her coffee, hoping Emma would offer an answer to her own question.

"Oh." Emma nodded and cleared her throat before returning the offered answer, "After Neal and the whole prison thing, I was a little bitter about men. I dated a few women, nothing serious though. I actually hadn't been with anyone for a while before Hook happened."

Regina repressed the bile in her throat at the mention of Emma being intimate with the smelly pirate. But she hadn't known Emma had dated women… they really did have a lot in common… Regina was going to continue the conversation, it really was an interesting conversation, that's all she told herself, but the one remaining bell on the diner door rang as someone came in.

"Amazing. Even in the underworld, you two are so predictable." Rumple stood there with that annoying smirk on his face.

"Where have you been?" Emma asked.

Regina snorted a little, "Yes Emma because I'm certain he will tell us the truth about where he has been slithering around this whole time."

Rumple smiled a bit then pulled a chair up, arms length from the booth. "Actually, I have been looking for all of you since the siren magicked you all away."

Regina rolled her eyes, "Yes I'm sure you have been beside yourself with worry. Did you know Henry has been taken by Hades?" Regina watched him as he frowned and ran his tongue between lips and teeth. He actually looked mad at the news.

"I did not know that. I assumed he was with you and the siren."

Emma put her cup down, her super power was telling her he wasn't lying about this. He really hadn't known Henry wasn't with them. But he was hiding something. "What _do_ you know?"

Rumple looked up then, his face a mask again. Whatever he had been thinking, he wasn't going to share it with them. "I know what you know now. It's obvious you will go get Henry back. With the sirens for back up you should be able to manage it." He stood up then and turned to leave the diner.

"Wait, where are you going? You can help too. As much as we hate to admit it, you happen to be Henry's grandfather, or does that not concern you anymore?" Regina didn't want him around or his help, but he had a lot of power to help with.

"Unfortunately, I cannot help you. Not directly. But trust me, my grandson is important to me. And believe it or not, I intend to make sure he makes it out of the underworld in one piece." At that he vanished in a cloud of magic.

"Seriously, if he could just, like, not exist, that'd be great." Emma put her head on the table and practically growled.

Regina finished her coffee and waved both cups away. "I agree, but he does exist and he is doing _something._ We need to get Lorelei and my mother in motion." Both women stood and made their way out of the diner and towards the town hall. Snow and David stood and joined them on the way.

As they entered the building, everything looked normal, except of course the dim lighting. Regina led them towards her office where she assumed the pair would be. Just before she reached to open the door, Snow stepped in front of her, blocking the way. "Regina, you do know I'm sorry right?"

"Yes, Snow, I know. Now move. I promise not to let my mother blow you up or rip your heart out." She reached past Snow to open the door. She opened it and stepped towards it and then immediately jumped back out, slamming the door closed again.

Emma had jumped back and nearly fell backwards, "What is it? Regina?" Emma said her name twice more before Regina turned away from the door, the deepest shade of red on her face that could be imagined.

With her eyes closed she exhaled slowly before opening her eyes and saying, "My entire life I avoided doing something every child fears. Walking in on my parents, in a compromising position. My whole life, I was very careful and never saw anything traumatizing between my parents. It may not be my father, but I can no longer say "I never walked in on it"." Regina closed her eyes and was pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to dispel the horrid scene that was burned into her mind. And as soon as they returned to Storybrooke, she was burning her desk. Alternate realm or not, she could never use it again after seeing her mother and Lorelei naked on top of it.

There was a commotion on the other side of the door and the distinct sound of a tiny lightening crack. The door opened and a very proudly smiling Lorelei stood with her arm gesturing them all inside. Cora (looking a little red faced and disgruntled) was in the seat behind the desk. "Regina really. Even peasants know how to knock."

"My mother told me that queens own the doors and the rooms and therefore have no need to knock." Regina answered as she stood well away from the desk.

Cora smiled a bit at that, "a wise woman, your mother. But still, let's knock hmm?"

In an attempt to save Regina from more of this torturous atmosphere, Emma got straight to business. "Rumple is doing something. He didn't know Hades took Henry but he seems to think he can prevent Henry from being harmed. But he isn't willing to actually come with us to help either. He is up to something and we need to get going on saving Henry before he gets whatever it is he's after."

Lorelei made a face as if she had tasted something bitter, "Yeah, I should have probably not helped him last time he was here…" At the intense questioning looks from everyone, and an angry one from Cora, Lorelei elaborated. "When he was here before, he was lost on the plains. He seemed like a bad guy so I was going to give him to Hades. Sometimes powerful spirits avoid being sorted when they get here and I assumed he was simply one powerful bad guy who needed to be put in Tartarus. However he started pleading and begging and going on about a son and a grandson and a wife and all sorts of nonsense. He insisted he wasn't going to stay dead and that's why he was on the plain and not sorted into Tartarus. I took a bit of pity on him and agreed to let him stay on the plains until he could be given life again. I didn't know how, but he managed it. One moment he was on the plain, the next gone. I assumed that was the end of him."

Cora put a hand on her arm and was practically bouncing up and down when she told her, "tell them what you did when he came back!"

Lorelei laughed and continued, "He returned, living this time instead of as a spirit. He was arrogant and thought he was big and bad because he was living this time around. I think he meant to regain some pride from our previous encounter with him begging. Well, I decided to show him he was about as powerful against me as a gnat." Lorelei laughed then and giggled as she told them all, "I made him perform for the plains spirits. We started with him singing and dancing the Macarena." She broke off into laughter at the memory and even Regina was laughing as Cora demonstrated part of the dance.

"I let him take a break after a few energetic dances, and he decided to give up the mightier than thou thing he had been attempting. He asked me what I wanted in return for releasing him…." Lorelei frowned and continued. "I told him I wanted out of the underworld, for a while at least. I have spent my existence here, and I'd like to leave."

"What about the ocean? You said spirits had left before." Snow interjected.

"Yes, the ocean path is a bit different though. When spirits leave they wander the world invisible to the living. When sirens leave by way of the ocean, we are bound to it. We can be seen and heard, but cannot set foot on actual land. Actually, there are always two sirens out there, in the world. They stop the living from accidentally sailing into the underworld. We used to sink the ships but eventually we found that the spirits were really angry once they got here." She shrugged at that.

"So the stories of sirens sinking ships is actually true… interesting." Regina nodded in understanding.

"Yeah well, anyway. Rumple told me he could get me out. He told me all I needed was a living guide to call the boat and I could board with them. So we tried. I couldn't get on the boat with him though. The shoreline acted like a barrier to me. He came back ashore and after thinking for a while, I suggested he take my charm on the boat with him. He agreed, oh so quickly, and I gave him my charm. He boarded the ship, and then I did. It worked. And then Hades, the little bastard that he is, tried to keep Rumple in the underworld. I didn't know why, but he wasn't happy with him leaving. He nearly destroyed the boat, I jumped onto land to fight back against him, and Rumple cackled as he sailed away."

"Rumple wanted your charm. Well he must have been working with Hades!" Emma stated.

"Right. Hades apparently did not want Rumple so he let him go when I got off the damn boat. The problem here, the part I can't understand, is that I know Hades would be ecstatic if I left the underworld."

"You're the only power that can stand against him". Regina remembered from their previous conversation.

"Exactly. He thinks he could take over my lands, but I have safeguards in place that would lock it down if I left the underworld."

Regina frowned in thought. "Rumple must be working with Hades. But the why is what we need to figure out. And he didn't know he took Henry." She shook her head. That was a problem for later. "Henry is what we have to focus on, and Rumple will have to wait."

The group nodded together in agreement. "Right. First things first, we need to repair this town, it looks terrible and my queen should only have the finest." Cora beamed at the siren and clapped her hands excitedly. Lorelei gave her a quick kiss on the back of the hand she was holding. Her eyes shone a bright silver and her runes lit up in an intense display of power and with a crack of lightening… The town was whole again. "How's that?" She asked Cora.

"Beautiful dear, as always." She wasn't looking at the town, just staring at Lorelei in a hungry manner that made everyone a little nauseous.

Before this could turn into a disgusting display of affection, Regina interrupted. "Very nice. Now the army?"

Lorelei broke her eyes off Cora and gestured to the door, "Outside".

Everyone left the room and headed out of town hall. As they walked out the main door, they were hit with the sight of thousands and thousands of people crammed into the streets. The people stretched off and up the roads in every direction and they began cheering when Lorelei and Cora walked out hand in hand. Cora waved in an undeniably queen-like manner. Lorelei kissed her quickly on the cheek and then rushed into the crowd, she waved around and the crowd peeled back and in it's place stood a massive black horse. She gestured to Cora and easily lifted her onto the back of the beast in a most graceful manner. After Lorelei hopped up behind her she turned to the living group and shouted over the sound of the crowd, "my sirens will escort you to the battle field. Stay within their circle, we cannot die, but you all certainly can if not by a spirit, by Hades beasts."

The army along with Lorelei and Cora disappeared in a flash of lightening, leaving the group of living to look around confused. It was a few second before several hundred golden sirens (still wearing clothes they were happy to see) appeared and motioned for them to follow them. Once out of the buildings and streets, the sirens circled the group and they now had a siren barrier at least four bodies deep. The spirits parted as the sirens brought them to stand beside the horse with the leaders of this army upon it. The sirens encircled them also and an honor guard was officially formed.

Lorelei grinned down at Regina and Emma in particular and said, "well, let's go get a boy." She heeled the horse and everyone began marching towards a wall of solid black that went higher and farther to left and right than anyone could see past.

Mr. Gold walked into the castle of Hades with confidence, but also enough of a humbleness so as not to immediately anger Hades. He was foolish enough to think he could match Hades. Lorelei had taught him just how little his power mattered here. He doubted Hades anger would be nearly as lenient as hers had been, no matter how embarrassing it had been. As he expected, Hades appeared before him before he had gotten too far into the castle. Rumple swallowed before he could help himself, the man was still terrifying, even to a dark one. "Hades. Please, may we discuss our bargain?"

Hades walked around the dark one and examined him like a side of beef before coming to a stop in front of him. "Rumplestiltskin. Such a little man to be addressing me." He smiled at the way the little man seemed to shrink under his scrutiny. He was well aware that he could be snuffed out without much thought by Hades. "Our bargain does not need to be discussed. You will get Lorelei to leave, I will keep your precious possession in my vault."

"Yes. Of course. But you have taken my grandson prisoner?"

Hades knew the boy was his grandson. He had an informant who had been tortured quite thoroughly. He knew a great deal more than the little man thought. "The living boy? I saved him from the caves."

"So can he be released? Maybe to me?"

Hades laughed then. He didn't like playing games, but every now and then he enjoyed people trying to pull one over on him, just to watch them bury themselves. "I decided to keep him. He tells very good stories you see. He has told me a few things, and I haven't even beaten him yet."

Rumple's face twisted in anger for just a moment before he controlled himself. "What do you want in return for him?"

Hades smiled at the man. "I want living blood on my sword. Life blood. I didn't kill him because of our bargain. I can't have you leaving the siren here in anger, afterall."

"You can kill any of them you wish, as many as you wish, but not Henry, please." He hated begging. He hated it more than anything else. But Henry was worth it. No matter how cold he was, he didn't want Henry harmed. Bae was gone, Henry was the only piece of him left.

"I do not wish to waste the living, lives are so precious, little man. I want just one. If you agree to take her to the other realm, I will keep your possession here and safe. And I will release Henry when I have a life to take. You said any other one?"

Rumple nodded. He didn't care which one Hades killed, although he sort of hoped it would be Emma. That way Henry would have less good in his life and Rumple would be there to help him grieve.

Hades smiled widely at the little man and bent close to his face, the fires in his eyes burning the mans face like the heat of a sun on his skin. "Very well little man. They will come for him and I will kill one. Now leave."

Rumple was gone in a heartbeat in a cloud of magic. When he appeared on an abandoned part of the plain he collapsed on his knees and cried through his hatred of himself. Not because he just sacrificed Emma, Regina, Snow or David, he didn't care if Hades killed them all. He wailed because of the begging and the fear and the cowardice within himself. He was going to continue building power for the rest of his time. Some day, he vowed to himself, some day he would rule the underworld himself and Hades would serve him tea.

Henry had awaken in a dungeon cell. It was dim and sort of smelled like fireworks. He could tell he was underground. Some dungeon somewhere. The time dragged on, he couldn't tell how long he had sat and stared at the cell door, hoping against all odds that his family would save him. They would, they always would. Hades came a few times, seemingly just to chat. He didn't ask anything that seemed like it shouldn't be told. He asked about his family and Henry had told him some of the stories of his book. The story of his family. He interjected a few things that hadn't really been in the stories. Things like the real reason Regina had went on an evil spree. The hidden parts that most people didn't care about.

Henry mostly just waited for help to come. When the cell door was pulled open he stood, expecting Hades or maybe his family come to save him. A man was thrown in right into Henry and he braced for impact… But the mans body passed right through him. Henry looked at the man on the floor as the cell door closed. And then he smiled the biggest goofiest grin you can imagine. And as the man stood up and looked at Henry, he smiled big too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Life has a way of happening, which is why this update took so long ;) I hope you enjoy this one, I had to rewrite a few times, still not entirely sure I got the moment. Listening to the song I listed at the end helps a bit. As always, reviews are appreciated!**

Chapter 6

The black barrier was further than it seemed. They had been walking for at least an hour by Regina's guess. Emma had stayed beside her as they walked in silence. Even though they hadn't spoken, Regina felt calmer and steadier with Emma close to her. They had no idea what they were walking into, it could result in nothing more than four more dead people in the underworld. But she knew one thing: Emma and her would find their son and take him home safely. Granted, they may have to escort him as spirits, but they would make it happen. Nothing could stop them, not in the enchanted forest, not in neverland and not in Storybrooke, so why would it be any different here? She looked towards her mother again and again, wished she hadn't. At least this time they weren't pawing at each other or having a tongue battle. They were however facing each other (yes, somehow on horseback Cora has managed to sit facing Lorelei for the better part of an hour) and seemed to be having an intense conversation and every few words Cora glanced at Regina. She was about to tell them to knock it off when Lorelei whispered something to Cora and her eyebrows seemed to shoot up impossibly far as her eyes widened and her mouth took on an "o" shape. She looked at Regina then and seemed to be in disbelief. Lorelei laughed and covered Cora's eyes with her hand for a moment. When she lowered her hand, Cora had silver shining eyes and was bouncing around in a fit of giggles while looking at Regina and Emma in turn. The siren was laughing loudly by now and she eventually waved a hand over Cora's face and put a finger to her lips and shushed her, whispering again. Whatever the siren managed to tell and show Cora had the woman beaming and seemingly on the edge of delirious tears. Regina had never seen her so happy…

"Hey.." Emma nudged her. "Try to ignore them, I think they are trying to drive you crazy". Emma smiled at her and nudged her again, and as usual Regina couldn't help but smile back at her.

"I think when my mother died, she got her heart back and lost her mind at the same time." Emma laughed at that and nodded her agreement. She was going to add to it but was interrupted by Cora calling a halt to the army.

As Cora managed to turn right way around on the horse again, she raised her arms to call the sirens and the living group to attention. "We will be there very soon now, it isn't safe to wander anymore." Lorelei smiled and began to wave a hand when Cora stopped her and whispered something to her that made Lorelei smile again. Eventually the siren was allowed to do her magic and she summoned two more horses. "Now, we only have the three so you four will have to share. Hmmm… charming and Snow, you take one and oh I suppose Emma and Regina will have to share also". She had a look of innocence about her which immediately made Regina narrow her eyes at the woman.

Snow and David easily mounted and sat perfectly comfortable with his arms wrapped around her, holding the reins. Regina and Emma stared at the horse, unmoving. Finally, Regina just wanted to get moving so she climbed onto the horse, holding her hand down for Emma. Emma backed up instead. "No. Nope. Not doing it."

Regina rolled her eyes and with a puff of purple magic, Emma was behind her on the horse. "Just hold on dear, I'll drive." Regina told her with a wink and couldn't contain the smile when she tapped the horse with her heels and Emma crashed into her back with two arms locking in around Regina's waist. "There, see? Not so bad."

Emma put her head on Regina's back and hoped her parents didn't see how red her face was. She tried taking a deep breath, but really that made things worse as not only was Regina's bottom pressed very firmly between her thighs, breathing deeply just made her chest press very tightly against her back. Regina on the other hand, was just trying to continue breathing as she felt Emma's legs on either side of her and her amazing chest heaving against her back. Luckily, she was a bit better at controlling her features.

As they approached the impossibly immense black wall, there was a sort of humming in the air. Lorelei held her hand up then to halt the party. She seemed to listen intently for a few minutes, and then a smile spread across her face and she took on an absolutely frightening appearance. "Well my friends, our foe is a bit more eager than I anticipated. They will come to us. Which means we should prepare."

All at once, the air was littered with tiny silver sparks. They descended on the spirits and the living and every siren. Soon, everyone had silver sparks dancing on their skin and clothes. A loud crack reverberated through the people and a flash followed. When the light was gone, Emma couldn't help a surprised gasp. In place of the thin white clothing they had been wearing, each person had their own set of heavy leather armor. The leather was unusually flexible and was a dull grey color. Everyone had their own weapons too. David had a long sword strapped across his back with a silver and black hilt catching the light, Snow had a beautiful silver bow and long silver arrows in a quiver of silver and black. Emma was happy to find a smaller sword than David's on her back and a small shield on her left arm. Regina was sporting two long knives, one on either hip. Cora was now dressed in a very elegant silver gown with no mention of a weapon on her. Lorelei was a truly impressive sight, wearing silver and black leather that shined even in the dim light. On either of her hip was a very elegant short sword, adorned heavily in silver and black runes. Every spirit to be seen was wearing dull grey leather armor and had a weapon. Some had axes, some had swords or bows. Every spirit looked eager to begin this battle.

"Now, the spirits and human like things that come at us will not be able to touch any living being. Their weapons will pass right through you. But, there are a few creatures that Hades has created and I don't know if they can get to you or not, hence the weapons I have given you all. My sirens should keep everything from you, but never hurts to be safe and besides, once we pass through the wall, I won't be able to cast my magic without breaking a ten thousand year old treaty. Luckily, pre cast magic is fine so you will retain your weapons." Lorelei finished her speech and snugged herself back up against Cora's backside.

They stood and waited for something to happen. Normally, Regina would be irritated at being made to sit and wait, but as it so happened, Emma was a nervous squirmer. As the minutes dragged out, Emma's impatience won her over and she began fidgeting against Regina. After about 5 minutes of Emma grinding against her in nervousness, Regina had to bite her lower lip to keep herself together.

Emma hated waiting for things to come to her, especially danger. To make matters worse, her armor was itchy. She very carefully tried to find a more comfortable way to sit on the horse without moving against Regina too much. Based on the lack of reaction from Regina, she must not have felt her squirming around trying to be comfortable. Eventually, Emma pushed herself up against Regina even tighter than she had been already and when they were pressed impossibly close, the itching stopped and she sighed against Regina's neck in relief of finally being comfortable. "What?" Emma asked her.

Regina released her bottom lip and opened her eyes when Emma spoke and startled her, "Hmm?"

"I thought you said something."

"No. Just waiting dear." Regina was relieved to feel Emma nod in acceptance of her lie, she must not be paying close attention. Mentally Regina cursed herself for letting out the slight moan, but when she felt Emma's hot breath against her neck, it came out unbidden.

The two women were so absorbed with themselves, neither noticed Snow's narrowed eyes studying them, or Cora's mischievous little smile. Itchy leather was a ridiculously simple bit of magic… Of course, had Regina been paying attention, she surely would have felt even that tiny magic, but her daughter was completely distracted by the blonde squirming on her backside.

Lorelei raised one hand in the air and a crack of lightening produced a flag on a staff. The flag was black with a silver lined red heart in the middle of it, a silver lightning bolt behind the heart. Cora smiled her approval at the flag and Lorelei handed it to a nearby siren to hold in the air. "We are buying time here my friends," Lorelei's voice was amplified over the army so everyone could hear, "So no slices or stabs, we must…" She was interrupted by Cora's own amplified voice…

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" Cora roared and the army joined in with shouts and howls of their own.

Regina smiled in spite of herself as she felt Emma chuckle, "definitely lost her mind". Regina nodded in agreement.

Lorelei then removed the silver charm from her chest and waited for Cora to pull the top of her gown down (a little too far if you asked anyone who saw) and the siren placed the charm on her chest. As soon as the siren removed her hand the charm began to glow very brightly, as did Cora's eyes. Just then, as the drums began to beat in the air, the sirens golden runes glowing in response with their own instruments. Emma could hear bagpipes and drums of different intensities and some strings as well. And a massive horde of black on black clad spirits burst through the black wall shouting and waving their weapons over their heads. As the first swords and axes collided, it was Cora who sang the song and the sirens who played it.

"Axes flash, broadsword swing,  
Shining armour's piercing ring  
Horses run with polished shield,  
Fight Those Bastards till They Yield  
Midnight mare and blood red roan,  
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own  
Sound the horn and call the cry,  
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!"

The grey clad warriors fought in time to the music flawlessly. The enemy forces were falling at a startling rate as the army moved in perfect synchronization. It was absolutely overwhelming how well these spirits fought compared to the black forces. For every one grey man who fell, 20 black troops disappeared as their heads hit the ground. The wounded fell and disappeared for a few moments, but then came running from the back of the forces to rejoin the battle, but the beheaded fell and vanished and did not return. Lorelei had said it takes longer when beheaded and this was certainly true.

"Follow orders as you're told,  
Make Their Yellow Blood Run Cold  
Fight until you die or drop,  
A Force Like Ours is Hard to Stop  
Close your mind to stress and pain,  
Fight till You're No Longer Sane  
Let not one damn cur pass by,  
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!"

As if by Cora's command, the grey forces swelled forward and fought even faster and harder as the drums beat into the air. They didn't seem phased by an arm being severed or by a sword through their guts. They fought until they were literally undone. And even faster, the black clad warriors fell and did not return. No grey man wasted time on stabbing or jabbing. Every swing of axe and sword was for a head. As the music beat on, through the black wall emerged the biggest beast any of the living had ever seen. It was a massive three headed demon dog. It snapped and drooled acid that killed anything it touched, even the black warriors in front of it who tried to get out of its way. The beast didn't discriminate it seemed. The central head whipped back and forth until its eyes landed on the group from Storybrooke. It began a run straight for them.

"Guard your women and children well,  
Send These Bastards Back to Hell  
We'll teach them the ways of war,  
They Won't Come Here Any More  
Use your shield and use your head,  
Fight till Every One is Dead  
Raise the flag up to the sky,  
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!"

The grey men tried to slow the beast but it quickly became useless and the golden sirens braced for the likely impact. Emma drew her sword and wrapped her left arm around Regina, blocking her chest with the shield and holding her sword ready to protect her. Regina blinked at the action and felt a warmth in her heart, Emma was protecting her from a thirty foot tall demon dog. And with a small smile she thought _idiot._ Lorelei had no intention of letting the beast get that close however. As the last words of Cora's song stopped, Lorelei flashed from behind her to in front of the charging beast. The music roared on, and in perfect time to the drums and bag pipes, Lorelei flashed around in bursts of lightning disappearing and reappearing long enough to slash with her short swords and then reappearing at another part of the animal. The beast staggered and stopped, heads whipping around trying to catch the siren and failing miserably. There was a flash of silver across the throat of first the left neck, and then the right. Lorelei appeared on the top of the head of the middle beast as the left and right heads dropped to the ground, four legs folding on cut hamstrings and tendons. As the middle head attempted to pick itself up, Lorelei stabbed down into it's skull, a flash of sliver bursting out of the bottom of the beasts jaw. When the creature heaved it's last breath, Lorelei reappeared behind Cora with a terrifyingly pleased smirk on her face and Cora picked up the lyrics once more, the music quiet around her for a moment.

"Dawn has broke, the time has come,  
Move Your Feet to a Marching Drum  
We'll win the war and pay the toll,  
We'll Fight as One in Heart and Soul  
Midnight mare and blood red roan,  
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own  
Sound the horn and call the cry,  
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!"

She finished the last words with renewed vigor and as she sang the first verse again, the grey men out numbered the black clad soldiers and cut them down ten at a time.

"Axes flash, broadsword swing,  
Shining armour's piercing ring  
Horses run with polished shield,  
Fight Those Bastards till They Yield  
Midnight mare and blood red roan,  
Fight to Keep this Land Your Own  
Sound the horn and call the cry,  
How Many of Them Can We Make Die!"

She called out "How many of them can we make die" twice more and the bagpipes faded as the last few enemies died. When none but the grey forces remained, the drums stopped also. The army raised their weapons and called their approvals and congratulated one another in triumph. Emma relaxed around Regina and sheathed her sword again. Lorelei and Cora shared one hell of a congratulatory kiss that was borderline soft porn before the siren waved her arm and the entire army disappeared. Cora and the siren whispered to one another and then Cora vanished as well.

"Well we have some time now. Come on." She casually led the group into the black wall, as if it were a walk in the park. Emma however didn't trust it and kept a tight grip on Regina's waist. No complaints were heard from Regina.

David however, was sporting a pouty face. "We didn't do anything". Snow turned on the horse to face him a bit and gave him a disapproving glare.

"David. We are alive, we have something to lose, the warriors did not. If you want to fight, do it with the living at least then you will be on equal footing." Snow shook her head at him once more before refocusing on following the siren into the black wall. It was harder than it sounds, considering she was keeping Emma and Regina in the corner of her vision. She was pretty sure they were much closer than necessary. And for some reason, Emma seemed to have a death grip on Regina. _I didn't realize Emma was so uneasy on a horse…_

Lorelei vanished into the black wall on her horse, closely followed by the other two horses. Once on the other side, they all stopped to wait for the other sirens to make it through. The living were too busy staring at the world before them to continue any way. They stared out over a barren and blackened wasteland. Everything looked burned and dead. The air smelled like sulphur and rot. Off in the distance ahead of them, they could see an immense black river. Nothing else as far as the eye reached. Just blackened death, and a black river.

"Well this looks very inviting". Emma murmured into Regina's ear, causing Regina to shiver slightly, hoping Emma hadn't noticed. And as Emma smiled behind Regina, she hoped the brunette thought it an innocent action.

Regina was feeling frayed. She was trying very hard to focus on moving on and getting to Henry. And although Henry was definitely the end game here, Emma was driving her completely crazy. Every shift of her hips, every deep breath, every word she spoke. It was all causing Regina to slowly lose her mind. She decided that Emma had no idea what she was doing and therefore needed to stop. It wasn't fair for Regina to get this wound up with no where to go. "Emma".

The deep and some what desperate sound in Regina's voice caused Emma to focus instantly on the woman. "Are you ok Regina?"

Mentally, Regina laughed hysterically. "Yes, I'm fine. But if you do not quit squirming around your going to knock both of us off this horse."

Emma relaxed and smiled where she couldn't see, "oh, ok. My bad." Regina nodded in acceptance and Emma just smiled. She could always tell when the woman lied. She probably just didn't want to tell Emma she was being annoying. Well, Emma was enjoying all this closeness, and wasn't about to stop just because her friend was irritated. She put a hand on each of Regina's thighs, near her hips and squeezed as she adjusted her seat on the horse. A gasping noise from the woman in front told Emma that Regina wasn't as annoyed as she was trying to sound. "There, is that better?" Regina just nodded. Lorelei smiled as she saw Regina with eyes closed biting her lower lip.

"When we get to the river, I can have my sirens play music, but they can't sing. I can't sing, because it is my magic, so one of you will have to use my charm to move the boat." Lorelei knew exactly who was gonna get them up the river. But she wanted them to feel like they were making decisions. Although, they were terrible at making choices. If they could see with her eyes… No. That was against the rules that she made for herself. You can't force emotions, no spoilers. If you told people what they felt instead of letting them feel it on their own, it could have disastrous effects. No siren sight for them. Cora could keep a secret, but she doubted these four could. Still, she was going to make them figure it out if it took the rest of eternity.

"Sing? You mean singing?" David asked. When Lorelei nodded he continued, "Well, what song?"

"It will be a song from the heart of the person wearing the charm. It just sort of comes out. It will be something that holds meaning for the person." Lorelei took her charm and bounced it in her palm. She couldn't use her magic here, but someone else could use it. At least part of it.

"Ok, I can do it." David said with a weird smile.

"No. Absolutely not David. I know what your favorite song is and I refuse to listen to you sing it or force anyone else to hear you sing it." Snow shook her head while she turned him down. "I will do it." She smiled in a self appreciating manner.

"Hell no." Regina looked at Snow incredulously. "I am not sitting through Snow Whites rendition of some flighty high pitched Disney "misrepresentation of a beautiful princess" song."

Snow looked offended, "I beg your pardon…"

"I refuse, but keep begging." Regina interrupted Snow's petulant defense.

"Well fine. You do it." Snow challenged Regina.

Regina raised an eyebrow at Snow and said, "Fine."

Surprise was evident on Emma's face when she accepted. "Really? You don't mind singing for everybody?"

"I happen to be a magnificent vocalist. And any song that the siren finds in my heart will be far better than anything charming or Snow can come up with." Regina stated matter of factly.

Lorelei accepted Regina as the vocalist and smiled to herself. She had an ability that these people didn't know about. She could see inside of people, not like reading their minds, but she could see what they felt based on the songs attached to the thoughts. For example, if one person happened to be secretly in love with another person, then the song they think of when thinking of that person would be one of love and affection…. Just an example. As Lorelei sifted through Regina's inner musical library, she found many many new to her songs that she found very beautiful. Of course this was how she grew her internal library. She simply "downloaded" songs from the people she interacted with. Spirits always had new songs to offer her. As she sifted through this new list she stopped on one song and frowned a bit, she already had this one, she had gotten it from Emma earlier. As the song played and the thoughts merged from both women, Lorelei smiled bigger than she had all day and laughed until tears came.

As they followed the siren, everyone frowned worriedly as she began laughing at seemingly nothing at all…

 **The battle song I used here is "** **march of cambreadth"** **as performed by Heather Alexander. I do not own the song, the words or the music.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the positive feedback, I appreciate it. As always, I own only the ideas, not OUAT.**

Chapter 7

The underworld was beginning to get on Emma's nerves. No matter how close something looked, it always took forever to get there. As much as she enjoyed riding behind Regina, she was going a little crazy. All she could smell was Regina's perfume and shampoo. All she could feel was the woman between her thighs. At some point Regina must have gotten tired (although Emma hadn't thought people got tired here) because she had relaxed and leaned back into Emma's chest. This put her head just under Emma's chin and Emma had taken to leaning her head on Regina's. She had put the shield on her back with the sword so her arms were relaxed with palms resting on the brunette's thighs and Regina had taken to holding her right hand, the left still holding the reins. Her pulse was already racing, and no one else was offering any help at all. She again focused on her parent's conversation to distract herself from Regina's essence.

"No, I'm not saying it's not a good idea, I'm just saying it's going to be difficult." Charming was trying again to deter his wife from her plans for the mural in their new home.

"David. I can make it work. Look," Snow started gesturing with her hands, trying to paint the picture for him again. "First at the very top, it's simple. My great grandparents lead to my grandparents and then to my parents. Your side is the same, all leading down to me and you."

"Yes but that's when it becomes a bit more difficult. My side is twisted because of my twin brother, and you have the whole Regina Leopold problem."

"What problem? Regina married my father, which makes her my step mother and therefore she is above you and I where we come together."

Regina sat up at this point, threats audible in her every word. "Snow White. If you dare to put me beside your father in your ridiculous mural I will burn your entire house down."

Snow frowned at her, "Regina, there's no need to get mean. It's a simple fact. You are my step mother, therefore you go just above me, beside my father."

David closed his eyes and hung his head, he knew exactly what the problem here was. "Snow, she isn't your step mother anymore since he died, and she really didn't want to be to begin with. Besides, she is Henry's mother and Henry is our grandson, therefore Regina belongs below us, separate but beside Emma and Neal."

"Oh my god, David. Your absolutely right." Snow was quiet as she took on a look of deep thought. Regina, thinking this conversation was over, relaxed back into Emma's chest. Emma reclaimed her place against her head and closed her eyes, perfectly content.

"A WILLOW!" Snow shouted suddenly causing everyone to jump. Emma sucked her lower lip which had been bit when Regina's head jumped into her chin.

"Ow, shit". Emma swore.

Regina turned around a bit to examine her lip. Almost without blushing, Emma let Regina trace the tiny cut inside her lip, healing it with her magic.

"There, no more bleeding, I'm sorry dear." Regina managed to not blush as she delicately traced the inside of Emma's lip with her fingertip. She tore her eyes away from the stunned eyes of Emma and rounded on Snow. "What is wrong with you? You nearly gave us all a heart attack!"

Snow was beaming, not caring about the daggers being shot out of Regina's eyes at all, "A weeping willow! With a willow instead of a normal tree, I can put Regina beside my father and have her willow limb fall down to connect with Henry!"

Regina lifted her hand, ready to throw a fireball at her, but Emma grabbed her arm and held it against her chest while she whispered in her ear only laughing a little "Please don't kill my mother, she means well. At least you are part of my family tree."

Regina wasn't really convinced not to kill Snow on the spot, but the feel of Emma whispering in her ear melted her anger into nothingness. She could fry Snow later, she decided. Instead of throwing fireballs, she relaxed against Emma's chest again, Emma's arm still holding hers against her chest. Neither woman made to move those arms…

Lorelei smiled to herself, listening to the conversations and watching the two women from the corner of her eye. She had dragged extra time out of the trip to the river, but they should be moving on now. As the group approached the river, Lorelei began motioning to the sirens. They began disappearing and when the commotion of flashes stopped, only four remained. "We can't all fit on the boat" she explained to the living. "I will keep these four here for the music and a little protection, although really, if Hades decides to make an appearance, they will fall without much effort."

The horses stopped short of the river bank by about twenty feet. It was obvious the horses wouldn't be fitting on the boat. It was plenty big enough for the people but certainly not for the three horses. Lorelei dismounted and her horse vanished. Snow and David dismounted, and their horse vanished too. Regina gracefully slid off the horse, already missing the closeness of Emma, but Emma didn't seem to know what to do here. Before Regina could offer a hand or advice, the horse vanished and Emma ungracefully found herself flat on her back on the ground. Regina offered her a hand up, attempting to stop her laughing.

"Stupid horses. Why couldn't we magic a car? No, had to be stupid horses." She continued to mumble while she brushed herself off.

Lorelei gestured to the boat and everyone stepped onto the deck. It was more of a raft than a boat. It was simply wooden planks lashed together. No rails or sails or rudders or anchors. The four sirens went one each to the four corners of the raft and sat down easily. "Ok. Snow, mr. man, take a seat near the back please. Emma, Regina, stand near the front."

Snow and David sat where they were told and Snow reached towards the water…

"Stop!" Snow jerked her hand back at the sound of Lorelei shouting. "That's not water, precious. This is the river Styx. It isn't made of water, it's the lost souls." At this point all four people looked carefully over the side of the boat. At glance, it looked like black slow flowing water, but upon closer inspection, it was comprised of tendrils of what seemed to be black fabrics flowing over one another. "When someone dies out of time, this is what happens to them."

"Out of time? What does that mean? Suicides?" David guessed.

"Not necessarily. Although the majority are suicides, not all suicides come here, and not all the lost souls took their own lives." Lorelei was trying to be clear, but by the looks on the faces around her, she wasn't being successful. "Ok, example… example… Oh! Ok. For example, if someone was murdered, but they allowed it to happen to save someone else, they would be here. It wasn't their time to die, but they allowed it because of the other person. If they had protested, they would have lived. Of course in the circumstance where they did fight it as hard as they could, but still died, then they wouldn't be here. In the case of a suicide, if they killed themselves because of mental illness, or because they simply couldn't stop themselves, they won't be here. If they could have fought the battle that led them to suicide, here they stay until redeemed. Before you ask, redeemed is what we call it when spirits vanish from the underworld. I don't know how it works, but my guess is reincarnation. Happens in Tartarus and in the fields for the righteous people."

"That doesn't make any sense. Who would willingly let someone kill them?" Snow questioned.

Lorelei didn't answer, instead she just wore a sad smile and Emma Snow and David followed her eyes to where Regina stood staring into the river, tears leaking down her cheeks. The gold siren closest to Regina smiled softly and reached into the river. Regina covered her mouth and gasped as the siren lifted a man by his collar up to the edge of the raft. Regina nearly fell but Emma steadied her before she did. Snow and David backed up to the middle of the boat, giving Regina her space.

"Father…" Regina gasped out as she stared at the man holding onto the side of the boat.

He smiled at her and the love in his eyes made Emma let a few tears of her own fall. "Regina, don't cry darling".

Emma removed herself from Regina and went to stand with her parents, giving Regina time with her father. The two talked for some time and both cried quite a bit before the man nodded and slipped back into the river. After a few moments, Emma touched her shoulder and Regina surprised her by springing up and into Emma's arms. Recovering quickly, Emma wrapped her arms around her and just held her while she cried. Eventually, Regina pulled back and wiped her tears away, she smiled and met Emma's eyes for just a moment and said, "He let me do it, he didn't resist because he wanted me to be happy. He thought he needed to because he didn't protect me when I was a child."

Emma nodded and let her pull herself together before she told her, "He loves you. I can see it in his eyes".

Regina nodded and decided she could continue now. As she stepped around Emma, David and Snow offered her encouraging smiles and Regina took her place by the front of the boat with Emma. "Whenever you're ready, siren."

Lorelei smiled at her and bowed her head a little, "ok, Emma, Regina stand side by side at the very front."

"Wait, why Emma also?" Regina asked.

"Oh, well, the river is a long one. The more emotion and volume, the quicker we travel. We are in a hurry to save your son yes?" Lorelei questioned. When Regina and Emma nodded and took their positions Lorelei continued, "Now, I need you two to concentrate on the same song. No speaking, just think of it."

Emma was going to ask which song but, she said no speaking. Ok… How was she supposed to know what Regina was thinking? She looked sideways at her and tried to focus on music she listened to. Nope. Nothing came to mind. Regina meanwhile was trying to think of what ridiculous song Emma could come up with. Probably some epic rap battle. She looked sideways at Emma only to find her already looking at her…

As the two women's eyes locked, the same song began in their minds, and the music began all around them. They were focused on one another's eyes enough that both were a little startled when Regina began to sing the words to the song that they never knew both had listened to, thinking of nothing but each other when they did…

" there's a place that I know  
It's not pretty there and few have ever gone  
If I show it to you now  
Will it make you run away?

Or will you stay  
Even if it hurts"

Regina remembered listening to this song when the curse broke. Convinced that the truth of who she was would finally make Emma run out of town, likely taking Henry with her. She couldn't imagine living without Henry, and Emma… She hadn't realized why, but she didn't want Emma leaving either. That seemed so long ago to her now…

"Even if I try to push you out  
Will you return?  
And remind me who I really am  
Please remind me who I really am"

Emma remembered listening to this same song, thinking about how much Regina tried to push her away from Henry… and from herself. She didn't really understand why at the time, back when she first laid eyes on the mayor of Storybrooke, but she didn't want this woman to know how she had grown up, all the wrong she had done… The memory made Emma sing with her for the chorus…

"Everybody's got a dark side  
Do you love me?  
Can you love mine?  
Nobody's a picture perfect  
But we're worth it  
You know that we're worth it"

Emma stared at Regina's lips as she let her finish on her own. Mesmerized by the way her voice warmed her heart.

"Will you love me?  
Even with my dark side?"

When Regina started the next verse, both women smiled, remembering the conversation in the cave thinking of Emma as a diamond Regina wanted to keep… She wanted to keep Emma with her, even if she wasn't a diamond…

"Like a diamond  
From black dust  
It's hard to know  
What can become  
If you give up"

Emma sang the next lines with her, turning to face Regina… remembering the way Regina pulled her out of the darkness, forcing her to remember who she was. Regina could only think of Emma standing in front of her, giving her magic to try and save her life while potentially sacrificing her own as she turned to face Emma… Remembering Emma taking the darkness, so it wouldn't take Regina…

"So don't give up on me  
Please remind me who I really am"

They sang together, Emma taking Regina's left hand in her right…

"Everybody's got a dark side  
Do you love me?  
Can you love mine?  
Nobody's a picture perfect  
But we're worth it  
You know that we're worth it  
Will you love me?  
Even with my dark side?"

Regina stopped and Emma sang to her,

"Don't run away  
Don't run away  
Just tell me that you will stay  
Promise me you will stay"

Emma was overwhelmed when Regina sang back to her,

"Don't run away  
Don't run away  
Just promise me you will stay  
Promise me you will stay"

Both women stopped singing, they didn't know who took up the song. They didn't care who finished it, all they knew was they were staring into each others eyes, and Emma cupped Regina's face with her left hand, right hand moving to her lower back. Regina thought her heart was trying to beat out of her chest as she put her hands on the back of Emma's neck and head. And then, all the years vanished. Time stopped. They were alone in all the world, all the realms. No one else mattered, no one else existed. Emma whispered, less than an inch from Regina's mouth, "I promise".

They pulled each other towards themselves and as their lips met, there was a resounding shock wave of magic and emotion, love and hope that reverberated through the entire underworld. Behind the closed eyes of both women, an explosion of colors and memories of all the times they wanted this, and resisted. It had never felt like the right time. But now it felt like so much time had been wasted. So many missed chances, all the time they could have shared together…

After a few euphoric moments, they very slowly pulled apart from each other's mouth. Eyes opened, and slowly, smiles appeared. They wrapped arms around each other and held one another so tightly, breathing was more difficult now than when they had been kissing. Emma may have stayed like that forever if Regina hadn't started giggling. Emma pulled back and looked at her in confusion. Regina continued giggling in a very unReginalike manner and pointed behind Emma.

Snow had one eyebrow down so low, her eye was nearly closed, the other looked to be trying to climb into her hairline. Her head was tilted and she was frozen in astonishment. At least her mouth wasn't hanging open, like David who couldn't have had his eyes or mouth open any wider.

Emma burst into laughter then and together her and Regina laughed until they cried, keeping each other from falling over. When the laughter finally stopped, and Emma and Regina wiped the tears away, David and Snow seemed to have gotten over some of the shock.

"Uhm, Emma? Is there anything you want to tell your father and me?" Snow asked while brushing invisible dirt from her pants.

Emma took a deep breath and gave Regina a questioning look. Regina shrugged and focused on the boards by her feet. Regina didn't know what Emma was going to say, maybe she would blame it on the sirens song. She might have been spelled somehow by the siren, Regina wasn't, she knew how she felt. Emma however might have been tricked or…

"Mom, Dad, I think I'm in love with Regina." Regina's head snapped up to stare at Emma. Did she really just say what she thought she said? Emma looked at Regina and saw the surprise on her face… Did Regina feel like that? Was it too soon? What if it wasn't how Regina felt, maybe it was the siren's song. Emma knew how she felt, she had just said as much… what if Regina…

"Snow, Charming, I am definitely in love with your daughter." Regina chuckled as Emma's jaw dropped, and then turned into a big smile.

"Really? I mean that's amazing, but you had to be definitely? I was all like, I think, and you just one up me like that?" Emma feigned offense as Regina laughed again.

"I can't help it, I'm very sure of myself." They wrapped arms around each other again and shared a small kiss. "Very sure".

"I'm sure too."

Snow cleared her throat and raised both brows as she stared at the two women, " well congratulations, Regina. You finally did it. You have ruined my happiness".

Regina frowned and pulled away from Emma, some things are too easy and too good. Of course Snow White had an issue with this. Emma tensed up and pulled Regina back near her. She set her jaw, ready to fight with her mother. She finally got the woman she has been in love with for years, her mother wasn't going to come between that.

David grabbed Snow's arm and gave her a shocked look, he was fine with this. He never thought she would have a problem with it…

Snow shrugged out of David's hand and stepped towards the two women, "You know how important that family tree mural was to me. You did this specifically so I couldn't possibly put you with my father. No tree bends and twists enough for this." She closed her eyes and sighed as she looked at the confused faces, she smiled, not able to keep a straight face anymore, "I'll have to paint a mural of unicorns with rainbow stickers instead."

Everyone burst into laughter, finally seeing the joke as Snow hugged both women as much as she could while David tried to hug everyone too. They were very happy, even Regina didn't mind a hug right now.

As much as Lorelei was pleased with herself, it was time to go. "Yes, you're welcome, now, let's go shall we?"

Everyone turned to look, for the first time, at their surroundings. As the women sang to one another, the raft had rocketed down the river and about the time they stopped, the song did not go on, they bumped into the bank in tartarus. "Oh, we made it". Emma stepped off the raft, bringing Regina by her hand with her. She intended to never let the woman go. Which suited Regina just fine.

"What are you taking credit for exactly, siren?" Regina asked the woman as the last siren stepped off the boat.

Lorelei took on a look of innocence as she answered, "Why, for you two finally getting the hook up, obviously." Lorelei held a hand up as they began to protest, "I can't take all the credit. Finding a song that meant that much to you both for so long was all you two. But Cora gave me the idea to make you two sing together…" She smiled and began walking through the blackened terrain surrounded by mountains on either side.

"As much as I hate her taking credit for this, or giving credit to my mother… I am happy it happened…" Regina looked shyly at Emma as they walked up a steep ravine.

Emma smiled back at her and squeezed her hand, "I have wanted this to happen since the moment I met you". Emma blushed a little when Regina arched her brow at her and winked a little.

They followed the siren through blackened mountains that smelled like rotting and sulphur, the air seeming thicker as they climbed upwards. After a long trek, they came to the top of a mountain that overlooked tartarus. As they looked out, everyone shared an overwhelming amount of dread.

There were bodies. Millions of bodies. But moving, writhing and moaning, screaming bodies. Lorelei looked out on the masses with an air of disgust and anger. "This is the outer layer of Hades lands. He likes to leave dismembered spirits this way. Eternally suffering."

"You can't take them? Save them?" Snow asked pleadingly.

Lorelei shook her head, "That's part of the treaty. The bad come here. I have no power here, Hades decides their fate."

"Do we have to walk through this?" Regina had no intention of crawling over bodies to get to the other side unless there was absolutely no other choice.

"No, actually." Lorelei said a little too brightly. "There are a series of tunnels through tartarus. Hades uses them for his minions to travel quickly through the layers". There was a whistle then, to the left. Lorelei guided them around the rocks to where a golden siren stood near a cave entrance. Lorelei took a deep breath and unsheathed her swords. "Now, we just fight our way to the inner most point. That is where Hades lives, and where his dungeons are."

Emma released Regina's hand reluctantly to draw her sword and put her shield back on her left arm. As David drew his sword and Snow knocked an arrow, Regina drew her long knives and mentally prepared her magic. Henry was waiting.

 **The song used here is Kelly Clarkson's Dark side. I do not own it, her or the words to it.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Demons. Hell beasts. Fire breathing hounds. Hordes of demonic screaming beings doing their best to rip the living limb from limb. Fighting non stop to make it through the tunnels and get to their son. This is exactly what was expected… A fight for their lives… Any minute now.

"Why is this so easy?" Regina finally asked the siren. They had been walking for quite some time, straight through a tunnel, never taking the tunnels that shot off to the sides. And not one thing had been seen other than the living group and the sirens.

Lorelei glanced at her and the concern was plain on her face. "I don't know. These tunnels are never unmanned. I can only assume Hades wants us to make it to his castle. Not only does he want us there, it's like he wants us there quickly so he removed his troops from the tunnels. Are we sure we need to save this boy?" A resounding yes from the four people was her answer.

Emma had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was not alright, something was wrong, she just had no idea what was wrong about it. "Under normal circumstances I would say that we shouldn't be doing exactly what some super bad guy wants us to do, but Henry will always be worth it. No matter what happens to us, he is worth it and we will save him".

David nodded and smiled at Snow, "We always find the ones we love."

Regina made a gagging noise that made Emma laugh, "Please Charming, can't you learn a new catch phrase?"

Snow shrugged, "It's our thing Regina. Oh!" She bounced and clapped her hands together, "Regina, now that you and Emma are a thing, our thing is your thing!"

Regina squinted at Emma, "Say it and I will cut you". She made a threatening motion with one of her knives at the blonde woman.

Emma held up her hands in surrender, "I won't say it." Wagging her brows at Regina she added quietly, "We both know you won't cut me babe."

Regina smirked and replied just as quietly, "Call me babe again and we will see how wrong you are."

Emma gulped and did surrender then, wisely not commenting back. They walked on, Lorelei becoming more nervous as time passed. She stopped at an intersection of tunnels and faced the group, "This is the last split in the tunnel, we will arrive at the base of Hades castle before too long, when we do arrive…" She stopped short as her four sirens vanished in clouds of gold dust. As she growled in irritation, a cloud of black smoke materialized into one fearsome immortal. "Hades. You ass, why do you insist on undoing my sirens? They can't hurt you. It's just annoying really."

Hades laughed as the living stared in awe and horror at the man before them. "Lorelei. My favorite siren, I don't like the way they shine, you know that."

Not really sure what to do, the four Storybrookers back away from him and put themselves firmly behind Lorelei. She barked a laugh at him, "Favorite? You hate me and you know it. You have struggled with your lust for me for centuries and it drives you crazy." She winked at him as he laughed some more.

"I see your ego has not diminished. The only lust I feel is for power and you know it." He turned his fiery gaze to the living behind her. "You are keeping interesting company these days."

Lorelei stiffened at his words. "So are you. How is your little imp? He pretends he brought them here to help them but we both know better. Has he been rubbing your feet this whole time?"

Realization of who Lorelei was referring to dawned on Regina and she began to wonder what exactly Rumple was doing…

Hades laughed again, "The little man has big plans. So far he has proved rather amusing, I think I'll let him run around a while longer. You know how fond I am of chaos in the underworld. Speaking of which…" He waved his hand and the entire tunnel behind him vanished, leaving the only routes out of the tunnels the way they came, and a smaller path to the right. Lorelei growled in irritation again at this.

"What are you playing at Hades? No guards, no demons, not even a trace of any of your minions. You wanted us to get here quickly and now you force us to take the longer path through?"

Hades shrugged nonchalantly, "I do want you and your pets to come visit me in my home, just not today I think. But I know you are after the living boy I borrowed, so I have decided to trade for him. Send two of your little party to my grounds and we will see what fun we can have shall we?" Hades smiled and his eyes blazed brighter before he vanished in a cloud of acrid smoke.

Lorelei sheathed her swords angrily and began to pace, tapping her chin. She wanted to gut him like the rotted fish he was, but that would require her magic and she couldn't break that. This, is exactly why she avoided tartarus. Every time she ran across that man she came close to breaking a ten thousand year treaty. As everyone caught their breath again, recovering from the smoke, Regina was the first to speak, "So Hades seemed very pleasant, you two seem like old high school friends."

Lorelei glanced at her and stopped pacing. "I don't know what game he is playing at. Usually he gets to the point. There must be a reason he wants you to go through this portion of his realm. She stared down the tunnel. "But why would he want this? And why only two?"

"What's down that tunnel?" David asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Every tunnel we have passed has led to a different layer of tartarus. This is the last layer before Hades home. He put this layer around his castle because it's his favorite one to watch. He calls it the grounds, that's short for sacrifice grounds." Lorelei shook her head in obvious disgust. "It will look like nothing more than an empty field at the base of his castle."

Emma frowned at the siren, "But it's more than an empty field isn't it?"

Lorelei nodded solemnly, "It is the grounds of sacrifice. For sport, Hades tosses spirits into it just to watch them sacrifice the best part of themselves. Sometimes it is a memory, sometimes it is a personality trait, and if he tosses two lovers into it, it could even be the other person. It depends entirely on randomness. Sometimes he send the same spirits in time after time just to watch them sacrifice another piece of themselves until only a hollow shell remains. There is never any telling how someone will come out the other side."

Emma took Regina's hand protectively. Snow and David held each other with the same need to protect one another. "Is there any other way around? Can we know before we go what we will lose?" Regina was searching for an answer.

Lorelei just shook her head sadly, "No. The only thing we can do, is send you through. I am unaffected so I can escort two of you through." The siren looked very tired now.

Of course, they could lose their memory of each other, which in Storybrooke seemed to almost be a hobby for them. Memories seemed to be the main target of every villain that came to town. At some point brain damage had to be inevitable. It was ridiculous how many times memories had been ripped from people, in fact, they might still be missing massive chunks of their lives and just haven't realized it yet. No one wanted to take the next step in this journey. Finally, Emma spoke, "If this is the only way to save Henry, then maybe only one of us should go?"

Regina looked at the woman incredulously, "You expect the rest of us to just let you sacrifice some random piece of yourself? We are just supposed to stand here and wait for you to save Henry and assume that whatever piece of you that is lost might grow back at some point?"

Emma set her jaw in a determined way, "Regina, it's my fault Henry is in there because I brought us here. If someone is going to lose something, it will be me."

"Ladies, please." Lorelei stopped the argument before it could get any louder. "None of you can simply stay here. But, not all of you can go." Lorelei closed her eyes and the charm, still on Regina's chest, flashed brightly. A few moments later two golden sirens appeared. Lorelei nodded at them and they put a hand on David who promptly disappeared in a flash of gold.

"David!" Snow cried out as he vanished. "What did you do?" She pointed an arrow, pointlessly at Lorelei.

"He is back near the river. He will wait for us there, and so will Emma." Lorelei said quickly as two sirens again appeared and vanished with Emma, right out of Regina's hand.

Regina in a fit of rage turned on the siren, "You're sending them away and you couldn't even give us a warning so we could at least say goodbye? We could lose every memory we have of them! What is wrong with you?!"

Lorelei looked tired and saddened as she met Regina's eyes, "If I had told them they weren't going, but the two of you were, they would have resisted. My sirens are not as strong as I am, especially here in tartarus. They would have resisted and ended up refusing to leave. I had to surprise send them, they will be safe now. Very pissed off, and likely trying to kill my sirens keeping them at the river, but safe."

Snow and Regina both thought for some time, and eventually met each other's eyes. "Why us?" Snow questioned the siren. It really didn't make sense. Regina was very powerful, and Snow had no magic.

"You two have a very unique connection. You have known one another longer than anyone else around, but you're still so far from each other. There's a chance that you will lose each other, the weird little relationship you have, but losing each other must be better than losing your loves. And in the meantime, maybe you two can learn to get along, in case you get to keep one another." Lorelei bit her cheek to stop the smile that was trying to emerge. These two wanted nothing less than to travel alone together, but if the sacrifice was random and they lost each other, well it was a pretty decent alternative.

Regina sighed and accepted her new travel buddy. "This is going to be hell."

Snow snorted and added, "At least we're not alone."

Regina raised a brow at the woman. I'd much rather be alone, she thought.

Lorelei motioned and the trio set off down the tunnel, heading to the grounds. Eventually the tunnel opened up and they stood at the foot of black mountains, staring across an empty field. On the other side of this field was a massive black and shining castle. Obviously, Hades' home. The air still smelled like rot and sulphur, and the sky was still empty. Lorelei stopped just short of the blackened grass that must signify the edge of the grounds. She turned to the women and opened her mouth to speak when she vanished. Snow and Regina stared, utterly confused, at the field and each other.

"Well, I'm ready if you are Regina." Snow motioned towards the field. "I think we are on our own now."

Regina nodded and they stepped onto the field together, if anyone had been there to see, they would have appeared just vanish.

….

Lorelei turned to explain to the women that they were about to be transported into the grounds when she found herself ripped away and dropped, roughly, onto the bank of the river styx. She looked around quickly then flopped onto her back, letting out a loud roar of frustration. "Hades, you, are a dick."

"Lorelei!" Emma called to her as her and David raced towards her, two sirens trailing behind. "Lorelei, where is Regina? Where is Snow? What the hell did you do?" Emma was frantic to say the least.

"Why did you send us here? I should have been the one to go, not Snow!" David was red faced angry.

Lorelei lay on her back, calmly watching them as they yelled and waved their arms around. Eventually they quieted and she lifted herself onto her elbows. She squinted and gazed off into the distance as she answered them, "Hades… is a dick." She was trying very, very hard to bring herself down from the brink of rage. He transported her. He actually used his magic to pick her up and drop her, unceremoniously onto this bank. He touched her with his magic. She shivered and wiped the invisible residue from her arms. She stopped suddenly, and stood up quickly. She began pacing, quickly. The two living were talking again, but she really didn't care to listen to their dribble. Regina had her charm. Regina had her charm and from the sensations she felt, walked onto the grounds with it. Hades couldn't do anything with it. It's not like he could control her with it, and really her power wasn't diminished without it, but when she played her song without it, they felt a bit hollow. Regina could sacrifice the charm and Hades could hold onto it just to drive Lorelei bat shit crazy… She could feel when someone had their hands on it. Made her skin crawl to imagine Hades holding it. But, she reasoned, she could probably get it back. So really, if that's Regina's sacrifice, it wouldn't be too bad. Just gross. This thought brought her back to why Hades wanted two people, two living people, in the first place. He was playing a game. He didn't play games very often, but when he did, they were usually horrific. She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. Time to focus on the now. She stopped pacing and looked around to find Emma and David staring at her. Staring daggers at her. It made her smile, just a little. They were so cute, mortals with true love. Her favorite thing was to see true love. It was so rare, she enjoyed it.

Clapping her hands together and putting on a bright smile she said to them, "So! Hades, being a dick, threw me back here with you people. I can't really do anything about it because ten thousand years ago I decided to agree to stop fighting. Isn't that nice? If I use my magic to return to Snow and Emma, the underworld will be thrown into war and chaos and then you will all quite likely be trapped here, or killed and that's no fun."

Emma glanced at David and saw he was as perplexed as she was. "Ok. So what? We do nothing?"

Lorelei sat down on the bank and leaned back on her elbows again, "Yep." Both father and daughter immediately dove into fits of anger so Lorelei glanced at the sirens who caught her meaning and magicked the two into unconsciousness. "Thank you ladies. The living are so very impatient." As the three sirens shared a quiet laugh, Lorelei tried to figure out what exactly Hades could be doing…

…

Snow and Regina took only a few steps before Hades appeared in front of them with a smile that made both women very nervous.

"Ladies. Welcome to the sacrifice grounds. I will make this quick. There are two of you, and I require two sacrifices to release you. But, since I am feeling so generous today, after you give me your sacrifices, I will send you back to your living friends and throw in the living boy I have for free." Hades finished his speech quickly and let it sink in for a few moments as the two women stared at him, confusion anger and deep thought taking turns crossing their faces.

"We give up something, some part of us and you release us and Henry? All three of us, alive and free to leave the underworld?" Regina asked him, disbelief evident in her voice.

Hades stare intensified a bit as he smirked, "For the most part."

"The most part? Which part of that doesn't apply exactly?" Snow demanded.

Hades fiery gaze made her swallow her demands quickly. "I will release the boy, and you both, and the other two who came with you. I will not stop you from leaving the underworld at all. All I want is two sacrifices, right now, and you're all completely free to go."

"Then why wait this long? Why didn't you just grab us as soon as we came to the underworld, or to tartarus?" Regina was beginning to get confused.

Hades shrugged, "That siren bitch is a thorn in my side. If I push too hard she could snap, very short temper that one. Fortunately, she doesn't want our little treaty broken. I let her play with you lot, knowing if I borrowed the boy you would eventually come to me." Never mind the deals he and Rumple had come up with. They could figure that bit out later. "this ground gives you the advantage of holding me to my word. When we agree on the sacrifices, we shake hands and I am bound to adhere to the conditions. I don't usually do this, usually I take and give nothing back, but it is different with the living. I must give to your satisfaction, therefore making your sacrifice willing, in order to receive my end of the deal. In order for you to actually give me a part of yourselves, we need the magic on these grounds." The living sacrifices offered him far more power than the dead. He only needed one thing from the living, but he wanted a bit extra anyway.

"You know what you want us to sacrifice don't you?" Snow looked down as she asked. She could feel that he already knew, he was only pretending to give them a choice.

Hades smiled at the smart little woman. "I do."

Regina sighed and closed her eyes, thinking what could be her last thoughts of Emma. So much wasted time, and now it was probably gone. Snow thought of David, and Neal, and Emma. If she lost her family…

Finally Regina asked the question neither woman really wanted the answer to. "What is it you want?"

Hades smiled his biggest smile in centuries.

….

Lorelei stood up in an instant when she felt magic coming. Within a few seconds, Regina, Snow and Henry appeared on the bank of the river, along with a dingy looking spirit man. The spirit she quickly dismissed. He was dead, and therefore she didn't care. She studied the two women carefully. Regina had cried. Her eyes were red rimmed and she looked like she had been sick. Snow looked similar, but where Regina looked determined, Snow looked defeated. Henry, looked confused. No one moved. Lorelei didn't break the silence. Something had gone very wrong…


	9. Chapter 9

**Honestly, I wrote this chapter last night, deleted it, wrote it again this morning and then deleted it when I got home and have now written it a third time. I hope you like the way I put it together this time!**

Chapter 9

It took a few moments for the daze to lift from Henry, but when it did he shouted "Mom!" before slamming into Regina and hugging her with all his strength. Regina hugged him back, closing her eyes and almost collapsing from relief that he was alright. Snow waited impatiently before Henry released his mom and turned to hug her with an equal amount of energy. "I knew you guys would save me!"

Regina brushed his hair down with her hands, also checking him once over for injuries before he pulled away a bit and told her he was fine. "Really mom, I'm fine. I was locked up in a dungeon by Hades, but he just talked with me. No torture or anything. And," He gestured to the spirit that was now kneeling beside Emma, "He gave me a pirate to play with".

Regina's eyes shot up to where Emma lay on the bank beside David, Hook kneeling beside her. She marched over to him and pulled him up by his jacket. "Hands off pirate."

Hook just stared at her. She had never really been his buddy, but she hadn't really been this aggressive before either. "Easy Regina, I was just checking on her." He gave her one of his salacious smirks then and added, "Besides, Swan never liked it when I started while she was asleep". He probably would have finished with a wink, but he didn't have the chance due to Regina's right fist colliding with his jaw.

As he hit the ground, a golden siren stepped between him and Regina, shaking a finger at the woman and gesturing her back away from him. Lorelei turned Regina around before she could swing at the golden siren too. "Regina. I'm not exactly the best at paying attention to mortal drama, however, if I recall, the last time this guy saw that girl, they were an item. In fact if I recall, he is the technical reason we are here right now. Since then, he has not been receiving hourly updates on the progression of the before mentioned girl." Lorelei raised her brows at Regina who in turn gave a grudging nod and stepped away, moving back to where the others were.

Hook picked himself up off the ground and started asking questions, which Lorelei immediately ignored. As he yelled at everyone else, and they tried to tell him to let Emma explain, Lorelei had stopped moving entirely. At a glance, her sirens cut all conversations short in a silencing spell. When they quit trying, the spell was removed, but no one spoke. All eyes turned to Lorelei who stood, very still, staring towards the black mountains of Hades home. As the time stretched, the golden sirens eyes grew wide and all at once they vanished in a spark of gold. As Lorelei's senses focused on what she was feeling, her silver runes began to pulse with the beat of her heart, flashing brighter and brighter until all at once she turned to the group and began motioning towards the black wall between plains and tartarus, "Move! Run, we must get away from her now!" She ran over and began to lift the still unconscious Emma off the gorund, but then dropped her again, closing her eyes and sighing. "Great, now I'm the idiot acting like an impatient living idiot." Instead of explaining, she waved her arm and everyone vanished in a streak of lightning, reappearing in the middle of underworld Storybrooke. She waved over Emma and David, waking them. As they tried to shake of the groggy feeling, Cora raced up the street towards them.

"Lorelei! I was worried sick! Can you feel it?" Cora frantically waved her hand towards the black wall in the distance, "He's growing! How? How could he gain more?"

"Doesn't matter, we found the boy, we found the pirate, we're outta here." Snapping her fingers, everyone found themselves standing next to a river (the water kind they were happy to find). Emma and David were trying to catch up, Henry hugging everyone. Emma seemed to refocus quickly however and ran to Regina, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Cupping the womans face in both hands Emma looked into her eyes frantically, trying to find a problem, "What did he take?"

Regina smiled and waved her back a bit, holding her hands in both of hers. And opened her mouth to speak but the siren interrupted them, "Doesn't matter, I can fix nearly anything he can do. What's important is calling the boat. We need to go, now. Hades has found power, if he finishes collecting it before we go…" She shook her head and waved towards the water, "Whatever, death and dismemberment for all eternity, I don't know. Call the damn boat!"

Regina released Emma and went to the siren, "Lorelei, please I have to tell you…"

The siren waved her off, "I know the dead pirate," She pushed past Regina and yelled at Emma, "If you're still gonna try the heart thing you better get a move on!"

Emma had completely forgotten Hook was dead. She shrugged and figured it was worth a try, she didn't want him but he still hadn't deserved to die. She reached inside herself and removed her heart.

"My my how you have changed. And for the better I think." Cora stood close, looking at the heart she wasn't able to take. "Oh it is pretty, product of true love. So nice. I'm so very happy I couldn't crush your beautiful heart Emma."

Emma gave her a weird sideways glance and as she tried to break her heart in half, unsuccessfully at the moment, she tried to explain things to Killian too. "Look, I know we were in love and everything, but I actually have loved Regina for a really long time…"

Talking over her, Hook was shocked, "Regina? You love her? Wait, what about a duet?" They carried on that way, talking over each other, Emma trying to tear her heart in half. It wasn't budging in the least.

Meanwhile, Regina was trying to talk to Lorelei who was trying to tell Snow how to summon the boat.

"Lorelei you have to listen…" Regina said.

At the same time Lorelei told Snow, "Just bloody your hand a bit and swish it around in the water."

Snow meanwhile was doing exactly that with nothing happening, "I am, look! Nothing is happening!"

Again Regina tried, "Lorelei please!"

"Think of your realm, your home, the high water you rode in on!" The siren was getting irritated.

"How did your mother do it?" Cora asked Emma.

"She didn't, Regina did it for her." Emma stopped prying at her heart and realized Regina could probably help her.

Hook just stood there a little shell shocked at the sudden break up he had to deal with after death.

"Regina," Emma saw her, berating the siren about something she couldn't hear. She decided to go over and ask Regina to help.

"It's not working!" Snow gave up and sat down.

Growling with frustration she turned to Regina who had been practically shouting words at her, not that she had heard any of them, but it was still annoying. Looking to Regina, Lorelei saw her charm there as she glanced down the woman's cleavage. "There it is! I'd forgotten it." She plucked it off Regina's chest…

And as Emma reached for Regina's arm, and Regina tried to reach for the charm back…

Emma's hand passed through her arm.

And then the world stopped. No one spoke a word. No one moved. Everyone had seen it happen. Emma had passed through Regina like she wasn't there. And as Emma waved her hand through Regina again, she folded. Her legs gave way and she found herself on the ground. She stared blankly, as Regina stood with her eyes closed, crying. Henry reacted first, putting his hands through her and tears rolling down his face. Cora nudged Lorelei and the siren put her charm back on Regina so she could hold her crying son. Snow held onto David as she cried and was speaking to him, but Emma didn't hear them, she didn't see them. She could only see Regina. She was a spirit. She had sacrificed her life.

Killian squatted in front of Emma and after saying her name three times, Emma looked at him. "Hey, why are you crying love?" After a few seconds, Emma finally registered his words and began to get angry. She had just spent ten minutes trying to tell him about her and Regina and he is asking why she is crying?! Seeing the anger on her face, he smiled, "There she is. I had to find Emma Swan in there. You're mad because you think I wasn't listening?" He laughed quietly then, "well I was listening love. And I admit, I was mad, and I even started thinking of ways the siren wench or even Regina herself bewitched you into thinking you were in love with her." He smiled sadly and took a deep breath before continuing, "But I can't really deny proof when it's staring right at me."

"Killian, what the hell is your point? You're talking in circles." Emma frowned at him.

Looking downwards, he gestured with his hand, "I thought I was your love, I really did. But that didn't happen when I died Swan." He looked back down in her lap.

Emma looked down to her hands, she remembered her heart was still there, unless she had dropped it. But she hadn't. It was there still, in her hands. Except neatly broken into two halves. She gasped in shock staring at it. She had nearly given herself an aneurism trying to tear it in two. And now here it was, neatly halved. "Product of true love Swan. I'm not an expert, but I'm gonna have to say that only true love lost can break your heart."

Emma stared at her hearts. She looked around her as Hook stood and walked back a bit. David was still comforting Snow. Cora was crying with Lorelei. And Regina was soothing Henry.

Henry cried and tried to tell her not to be dead. He tried very hard. But in the end Regina could only tell him it would all be okay someday. He would be okay. He had Emma. She had come to terms with her own death fairly quickly. She was hurting now because of the look on Emma's face, and because of her sons tears and pleading. She had given her life as a willing sacrifice, but only because she couldn't let Snow give hers. One of them had to and Regina had won that war.

As Emma stood, Lorelei looked at her, and then down to her heart halves. Surprise widened her eyes as she grabbed Cora's head and physically turned it to look at the heart. Cora's jaw dropped and then she was crying again, but with a smile. Lorelei reached over Regina's back that was facing Emma and her and gently pulled the charm off her. Henry dropped him arms when they went through her again. Regina was about to turn to comfort Emma when something slammed into her back. She stumbled forward, expecting to fall through Henry, but he caught her and steadied her. She didn't fall through him. She touched her chest, but the charm was gone, only Henry was touching her, not a siren. She spun around to lock eyes with Emma who then put her half heart back in her own chest.

"Emma?" Regina felt shaky and weak. She wanted to step closer to Emma but didn't trust her legs to hold her up.

Fortunately she didn't need to. Emma quickly closed the gap between them and they shared true loves first kiss for the second time that day. After losing her to death, Emma wasn't going to take any more chances of this being their last kiss. She kissed the lips that have haunted her dreams until she couldn't live without air anymore. And then as they stood there gasping for air, they stared at each other and held on as tightly as they could. Emma brushed the tears from Regina's cheeks and she did the same for her. They closed their eyes and stood with their foreheads together for what seemed an eternity. Until the siren brought the world crashing back again.

"Awesome. Hades killed you. How? And when. Both of you, Snow Regina. Speak now or I will pull the words out of your throats myself." Lorelei was pacing again, Cora stood off to the side a bit with an unamused look on her face, following the sirens movements back and forth and back and forth again.

Regina sighed and was going to try to tell her what she had been trying to tell her since they hit the Storybrooke street, but was interrupted by about 999 golden flashes surrounding them on the ground beside the river. Lorelei's eyes darted around as the sound of 999 instruments whirled around her. The living and spirits were overwhelmed and covered their ears to the noise.

Lorelei's runes flared once and all was silent. She stood, staring at the ground as a single rapid drum beat sounded form one of the golden women. She closed her eyes and nodded, then held up her hands above the women. All at once, the women became streaks of gold and they all collided with Lorelei's outstretched hands. When the commotion stopped, only four golden sirens remained. Lorelei nodded at them and three left in a flash of gold. The fourth she sent to Killian.

He looked her up and down in the typical pirate manner and asked Lorelei, "is this my consolation prize for losing Emma?" Regina rolled her eyes and Emma laughed at him.

"No. But since they came all the way here to save you, you must have been a decent man. I don't see it, but what do I know." Lorelei shrugged. "There is a woman that my sirens found when they went looking for you. She is in the fields just off my beach. I believe you knew her once, her name is Milah."

Hook's face became serious then, "Milah, you know where she is? Can I see her?"

The siren smiled and took his hand and disappeared in a flash of gold.

In slight offense, Emma shook her head, "That was quick. Hope the poor guy gets over me."

Regina laughed and squeezed her hand, "That's what you get for dating a pirate, idiot."

Emma gave her an affectionate squeeze back before Lorelei interrupted.

"Well that was nice of me." She patted herself on the back lightly before looking to Regina and Snow, "Now, we're all going to die and I want to know exactly what happened on the grounds before we do." The siren stated.

 **I had considered (in one of my previous drafts of this chapter) keeping the death a mystery, or at least a mystery as to which woman had died. But, really, I hate not having swanqueen love. I'm pretty sure there is enough disappointment in the canon story for SQ shippers, I don't need to keep them apart in my own story ;) let me know what you think! I appreciate all the reviews you have left for me. It adds fuel to my fire!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another update! This chapter is not as action filled as the last ones, but I had to fill in a few gaps before continuing. The importance of some back story I guess. Anyway, thank you for the amazing reviews! I hope you like this direction ;)**

Chapter 10

Regina began telling everyone what exactly had happened on the grounds. She told them that Hades had changed the game from what the siren knew of it, to a more pointed give and take. Instead of random sacrifices, he specified what he wanted. Cora looked confused by this and interrupted the retelling of events.

"Why did he bother telling you what he wanted? Surely he could have just killed you both and been done."

Lorelei sighed and frowned in thought, "A long time ago, I heard a rumor. I was told by some smart ass spirit that if Hades really wanted to destroy me he could. I asked him how and he told me that if Hades could take a living life with his sword, he would absorb enough power to destroy me in a very permanent manner." She began pacing again, tapping her chin with one finger. "The thing is, I investigated this mans story. It turned out to be true but with so many stipulations, I completely put it out of my mind. The very first detail had me doubting Hades would ever resort to such a thing."

"You really didn't think that the guy who tortures dead people for eternity would kill someone?" Emma asked incredulously.

The siren shook her head raising her brows in disbelief, "as surprising as it may sound, Hades puts a great deal of value on life. Death he cares nothing for. It's like he is punishing people for dying. I on the other hand couldn't care less about the living. Life is incredibly short lived after all. And oh man, the drama the living get themselves involved in is exhausting." She rolled her eyes at the end, still pacing.

"I remember now, you created paradise for the dead, Hades created, well, hell basically." Regina interjected.

Nodding, the siren continued, "right. I figure if you lived a life of war, plague, and drama, you should get paradise when you finally die. Hades however figures you should be damned, at least until you vanish in what we like to call redemption. So, this is why I dismissed the power gain idea. It's like when you people go around casting dark curses, in order to do it, you have to sacrifice the thing you love most. In order for Hades or I to gain more power, we would have to do the same. For him it's taking a living life…"

When she didn't seem to intend to continue Cora cleared her throat and asked, "Dear, we would like to know what you would have to sacrifice?"

"Well, I hold the dead rather highly. I imagine I would have to obliterate some to gain the power. Of course, the dead wouldn't grant as much as the living so I would probably have to permanently undo about 75,000 just to match his one living. 100,000 would put me above him. But really, consuming my sirens is one thing, I mean I can bring them back, to consume spirits would be permanently erasing them. No redemption for them. It's murdering the very soul of a being." Lorelei was rambling towards the end and pacing even faster now. Cora, who had been following the woman with her eyes shook her head in irritation.

"Stop, my god stop your driving me crazy" Cora finally snapped, she grabbed Lorelei by the arm and made her stand face to face with her. "What are you going to do? They can't summon the boat and even if they could, would you really leave now? Would you let him dominate the underworld? He would spend every moment torturing any spirit unlucky enough to be outside your plains… including me."

The last words stopped Lorelei from her own thoughts and she focused on Cora. "No, no of course not. I'm not leaving the underworld to him. I'm certainly not leaving you to him. I need them to leave, if I do the unthinkable and eradicate 100,000 souls, they need to be gone. I don't know if I could come back from that and even if I did, he could potentially take another life."

Regina interrupted them this time, "I don't think he could. It wasn't easy to get my life." Regina took up the story again of being on the grounds. Including into it exactly what other conditions there were to Hades getting the power from her life. "He couldn't just kill me, I had to be willing. And to make it more difficult," she gestured towards Snow, "She had to be willing to let me give my life too."

"Excuse me?!" Emma rounded on her mother who cringed and shook her head in an attempt to calm Emma but was stopped by Regina continuing.

"She wasn't willing at first Emma," Waiting until Emma seemed to calm a bit, she continued, "Immediately Snow refused. It was actually a little heart warming. But then Hades reminded us that Henry was still locked up in his dungeons, and that one of us had to give a life or Henry would be killed for sport. We argued, Snow and I, but…" She glanced at Snow and licked her lips quickly continuing, "eventually I convinced her to let me do it. When she accepted it, he killed me. I didn't feel anything, I barely saw my body fall from my spirit before he made it disappear. The only thing to even tell me he did it was the blood on his sword." She finished with a shrug.

Snow nodded as if this were the end of events, but the siren had been paying attention, "and the second sacrifice?"

Grimacing, Snow answered, "we don't know."

In disbelief, Cora snorted, "he made you forget what you gave?"

Snow waved her hands in defense, "no, we remember everything, we just couldn't figure out what it was exactly. He said I had to sacrifice space. He refused to give details and we asked things like, will it hurt? Will it kill me? Will it kill anybody? But every answer was no. So, I accepted."

Regina was frowning, "I asked everything I could think of but I couldn't figure out what it was."

Lorelei squinted at Snow but shook her head and waved it off, "I don't know, it doesn't matter. The important thing here is that Hades managed to get two people to let someone else give their lives."

Confused Regina asked, "Two? Only Snow agreed to let me."

Lorelei laughed and closed her eyes, "ah my lovely little friend, you're forgetting someone."

Emma understood first, "That little shit faced bastard!" At the questioning looks from the others she added, "Rumple-let's fuck up some shit-stiltskin."

Understanding swept through the group and no one doubted it.

"He is gathering his power to him now, I don't know the entire ritual but I know it takes some time." Glancing at Cora, she shrugged nonchalantly and added, "We should probably go and collect ourselves, maybe figure out a plan…"

Cora, to her credit, managed to be discreet also, "Yes, I think that would be best. Forming a plan should be our top priority."

Regina made a gagging noise, "really mother that's vile. And before you two go to "plan" each other to death, what the hell are we supposed to do?"

Cora pursed her lips and gave Regina a look that told her she had hit the nail on the head, "you should get on the boat and go home dear."

As one, the living turned around, sitting on the water was the boat they had come to the underworld on, it must have appeared when everyone's back was turned.

"Mommy loves you dear, feel free to visit… but call ahead, you know just to make sure that we haven't all been killed better or corrupted, or gone off to hell in a hand basket!" Cora blew her a kiss and the siren vanished them both in a flash of lightning.

Feeling a bit stunned, the five stared at each other in turn. No one moved towards the boat. Finally David spoke, "anyone else feel like this is our fault, the whole battle royale thing?"

Everyone nodded and Henry spoke next, "Anyone think we should risk our lives and maybe even our eternal souls to help out?"

Regina rolled her eyes in frustration but she nodded with everyone else. "Anyone think Henry should be sent home while the adults risk everything?"

Again everyone nodded, well, except Henry, "Mom, I'm a hero too remember? I can help."

"How kid? What do you think you risking your life is gonna help?" Emma knew it was pointless to argue with him, but her mother side told her she should try.

"Well, for starters, she is gonna need epic battle music. Grandpa told me all about the singing and dancing. You guys are cool and all, but I have a teenage head full of angry music, you guys probably just have like love songs and Disney soundtracks."

Regina frowned at him, she knew he was staying so hadn't bothered arguing, "Oh do you now?" Henry started to nod before he looked at her angry face and smiled as he shrugged instead, "You can stay. But when we get home I am going through your Ipod."

His shoulders slumped and he grimaced but he nodded anyway. Once it had been decided, the river and boat disappeared, leaving them on the same looking plain they had started on. Not sure if her magic would work to take them to the underworld Storybrooke or not, Regina was about to try but a cloud of smoke turning into Rumple made her prepare a fireball instead.

Ducking the fire ball easily Rumple smiled at her, "That's no way to treat an old friend dearie."

Emma stepped closer to him and was ready to punch him in the face but Regina pulled her back, shaking her head. It would probably only hurt her to try it. "You let Hades kill Regina. Pretty sure that cancels out the friend thing."

Rumple nodded, not trying to deny anything. "I did give him my leave to kill anyone here, except Henry. I went to him and asked to take Henry, he told me no but he would release him if I allowed him to kill someone, which, for Henry's sake, I agreed to. Which, by the way, turned out just fine seeing as how she is alive." Smiling again he continued, "Speaking of killings and things, why precisely are you not leaving here and taking the siren with you?"

Snow smiled at him this time, "well, for starters, because you obviously want us to do that. Since it's something you want, we definitely won't be doing it."

Shaking his head and frowning slightly Gold took a deep breath before speaking again, "Hades has become more powerful than the siren, at least he will be soon. The underworld will become a pit of death and despair. You can't do anything here, the siren will be destroyed if she stays too. You all need to leave."

Frowning in thought, Regina spoke, "Why would Hades acquire more power, the power to kill her, and simultaneously want her to leave? Didn't he get the power in order to destroy her?"

A light of understanding showed in the dark ones eyes just then. He realized something… "She hasn't told you the whole story of her and Hades has she?" He noted the looks ranging from irritation to curiosity and decided that anything she didn't tell them, he definitely wanted them to know. "Well, let me enlighten you then. Let me begin at the beginning… let's see, oh yes, we should start back when Lorelei was a beautiful mortal woman." He paused as the looks of shock passed through the group, especially Emma, who knew he wasn't lying. "Yes, I think that would make a very good starting point."

As Rumple told the story of the siren and Hades, no one quite knew if they should be worried, scared, or feeling pity for the pair. Thousands of years ago, although how many exactly is unclear, a young woman named Lorelei fell in love with a man who was as handsome as she was beautiful. She fell in love with him even though she knew he was very prone to jealousy. He also had a thirst for power. He was a very high ranking military man, and still wanted more even though only the king was above him in power. He would rage at Lorelei every time a man fell in love with her, because even though she tried to deter the men, she was very beautiful and had a singing voice that could melt any heart. She never strayed from her love though, very faithful. She vowed the moment she met him she would never love another man. The man however, didn't trust her. He always accused her of enticing the men who adored her, of leading them on. One day the king himself fell under her spell. And, being the most powerful man in the known world, he demanded she marry him and leave her lover. She refused and went to her love and told him what had happened and that they must run away or else the king would probably kill them both.

Instead, her lover became a raging jealous mess. He went to the king and killed him in his bed. When he realized what he had done, he found a way to frame Lorelei for the murder, because he would rather lose her than his new title of king since the king had no heirs. No one disbelieved the story he told, they all knew how men fawned over her. She was sentenced to death immediately. In a moment of pity, the new king decided she could choose how she would be put to the death. She was overcome herself with the betrayal from him, and wasn't afraid to die, she didn't want to live with the hurt from his betrayal.

She chose to take her own life, by jumping off a cliff over a great river. The king was disgusted by this, because although death was inevitable, anyone who wanted to end it themselves he saw as wasteful. He decided to journey with her and just a few guards, to the cliff of her choosing. Lorelei knew he would come with her if she wanted to throw herself off. So she stood on the edge of the cliff, looking out over the river, and suddenly she called out that the king who had been murdered was not dead, because she could see him just below the cliffs. Of course, her lover had killed the man and buried him so he was startled to say the least and when he ran to the edge to look down, she pulled him over the edge with her. When they hit the water, it exploded around them as they fought one another.

They emerged in the underworld, still fighting. As they fought, many powerful beings offered their help to one or the other. Both the man and Lorelei became incredibly powerful through the fighting until one day they stopped and made a treaty of peace.

Taking a deep breath, Rumple finished his story, "There is a legend in nearly every realm, depicting this story in some way or another. In fact in our current realm with Storybrooke, they have even named a cliff on the river Rhine after her, and if your good and quiet they say you can still hear her singing there. The man had a name, but it was lost in time. He gave himself the name Hades and the reason he wants her gone is he doesn't want to kill her again. He still loves her, as she undoubtedly still loves him. But, he would rather have power than love. So he wants her to leave but will kill her if she stays and stands in the way of his power grab."

Emma's mouth had been hanging open for a while now, but when he finished she licked her lips and frowned when she asked him, "what the actual fuck is going on?"

Henry snorted in amusement when Regina slapped her across the arm, "language miss Swan, our son doesn't need to hear that."

"Language Regina? You think me saying fuck is the worst thing happening to him right now?" Emma gestured at the whole of the underworld, "we are literally in the middle of the underworld getting ready to help a total bat shit crazy psycho siren take down an equally bat shit crazy psycho lord of the underworld, and quite frankly, I don't know who the freaking bad guy is! And you think me saying fuck is going to mess him up? Not the fact that his immediate family is about to embark on a soul destroying mission which will almost definitely involve singing and dancing with a few moments of death and terror in between to keep things fresh?" Emma put a hand on her forehead and closed her eyes.

"Don't worry, I bet Archie can see me twice a week when we get back." He smiled even as Regina crossed her arms on her chest and muttered angrily about idiots and genetics.

"And what precisely are you getting out of this Gold?" David spoke for the first time in a very long time.

"I brought you all here to help the pirate, now I am trying to get you all out to help yourselves." Rumple wasn't exactly lying… but that wasn't the whole truth and Emma knew it.

"Yeah and you do nothing for anyone unless you get some cake too." Emma raised a brow at him.

"I have no need for cake dearie, I have remained scarce this whole trip due to the siren hating me in a rather thorough manner. Hades is much more tolerant of me so I was able to deal with him for Henry. I have nothing left to do here but leave. And as you said miss Swan, we don't really know who the bad guy is, do we?"

"Hades. He started this when they were alive, and he tortures the dead. Hades gets my vote for bad guy." Henry stated very matter-of-factly. "Besides, Cora is in love with Lorelei, so she is kind of family, we have to be on her side. Since Cora is my grandma, I guess Lorelei is too. Well, I mean, Cora is my grandma now, she was my great, great grandma too, but that was voided when my great grandma became my mom instead."

Regina had taken to closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose halfway through Henry's words. Emma was trying to hold back a laugh, "don't worry, you're a super hot great grandma, babe." And at the word babe, Emma ducked gracefully to avoid the slap from Regina. She laughed and wrapped her arms around the angry brunette before kissing her and making Regina smile again.

"We are on the sirens side. And for the record, it's not because she is family. Mr. Gold is family technically and personally I hope he gets fried in the upcoming battle." Snow said to Henry while messing up his hair.

Rumple shared a half smile with them before he again vanished. Once he left, Regina used her magic to (hopefully) take them to the Storybrook.

….

A fountain of flames burst out of Hades mouth as he shouted at the little man before him, "What do you mean she's staying? Why are the living staying with her? Can you do nothing right?!"

Rumple was shaking with the fear gripping him. "I tried to convince them, but Lorelei never intended to leave after she felt your power growing. She refused to abandon the underworld to you."

"Again, she would rather die." He roared into the air in anger. "She would happily give her existence over to protect the dead. Fine. If she wants to die, then I shall help her along. And this time," He smiled darkly before finishing, "This time, she will die alone."

As Hades roared his anger through the castles halls, going to finish his rituals on the sword, Rumplestiltskin stopped shaking. He smiled like he knew some great secret, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.


	11. Chapter 11

**As always, I do not own OUAT. A short chapter. More of a back story, really. The next chapter will put plenty of pieces in place for the battle for the underworld. I appreciate everyone who is following this story, and of course the reviews are encouraging.**

Chapter 11

Lorelei stood at the large window in the room she and Cora spent far too much time in. She stared, not actually seeing anything. The power Hades was building was already immense, and still swelling. It had surpassed her as soon as it started because they had been equal in strength when they agreed on the treaty. She huffed a small laugh then, a sad smile on her face, thinking about the day they both agreed on it.

 _The fires of the underworld burning had long since been ignored by the two warriors. They neither felt the flames nor cared what they consumed. Somehow, the fire had managed to complete a circle around them. Closing them off from the spirits and demons at war all around them. As the man swung his sword down, it was stopped by the crossed blades of Lorelei, just like it had been a billion times before. But this time, something was different. This time, instead of pushing him back and thrusting her blades at him, she stared into his eyes and when she pushed him back, she let her swords drop their points towards the ground. He was a little surprised, and curious. It had been thousands of years since they had crashed through the waves and landed in the underworld and neither of them had ever stopped._

 _Different beings and spirits occasionally joined the fight, with one or the other, bestowing gifts of power and strength upon them. But even then, the fight raged on, neither really caring what the beings gave them. Through the time, the beings came and went. But now… it was just the two of them, encircled by the flames they had created._

" _Are you finally surrendering Lorelei?"_

 _She smiled at him, still looking at his eyes, or where his eyes used to be. They had both changed so very much… "No, I'm not giving up to you." She raised one sword to examine the blade. Someone had handed her this sword and the one that matched it. She had no idea who really. "I'm just… I just don't know why we're still fighting."_

 _The man examined his own blade then, he couldn't remember when he had gotten it, or from where for that matter. "We are still at war because when you dragged me to my death, we fought. And when we were put in charge of things because we had become powerful, we fought. And when the dead had to be put somewhere you wanted them to be happy, I wanted them to be miserable and so we fought."_

" _So, why not both then? This place is divided into three areas, I will take the happy piece, you can have the miserable piece. When the dead come to us, the bad ones can go to you for torture and the righteous can be treated nicely by me. I don't feel like fighting anymore."_

 _The man considered for a few moments, idly examining the creature before him. He couldn't recall when she had acquired the silver runes she was covered in. She looked similar to the Lorelei he knew, but so very different now. "Alright. Let's suppose we did this. What would stop you from attacking me again? This could be your plan to catch me off guard."_

 _She smiled at him then, even with his frighteningly different appearance, he still resembled the man she once knew. "We will make a deal. I won't use any of my power on your land, and you do not use yours on mine. If either of us break this promise, we can resume our battle."_

" _Fine then. But tell me, what of the third land?"_

" _The third bit is where the dead begin here, so I will take it and guide them where they need to go."_

 _He roared with laughter then, "How nice would that be for you? Everyone starts in your land, giving you the right to decide if they are good or bad! I would never see a single one." He pointed his sword at her ready to go to war again._

 _Lorelei sighed, she had tried… "Fine, but that means you can't have it either. It will be a neutral land. The dead can be sorted out by us both as they come. We can both tell if one is righteous or damned."_

 _Considering, the man finally lowered his sword, extending his right hand instead. The woman sheathed one blade and placed her small hand in his. At the contact, a length of chain appeared, black and silver links wrapping around their hands and forearms. The chain flashed and vanished, the agreement made. Now either would know if the other broke the deal. The swords were put away, and the flames extinguished. The dead ceased fighting for the first time in so many thousands of years._

" _Good bye, Lorelei."_

" _Goodbye, Azazel."_

 _Grimacing the man told her, "That is not my name anymore. That was the name of a man who lived, I have died."_

 _The woman thought for a moment and said to him, "I still see the man who lived…"_

" _Then call me Hades. In life, a man tried to teach me another language. I remember little of it. But this word, hades, I remember it means unseen. Maybe my new name will help you forget what you see."_

She was pulled out of her intimate thoughts by the sound of a deep groan, followed by a loud thud of something hitting the floor. She grinned then, shaking her head a little bit, turning to look towards the noise with one eyebrow raised. "Are you alright woman?"

Cora just laid on the floor, tangled in sheets. She gave a short grunt just to let the siren know she was alive… well, as alive as a dead woman could be.

Chuckling to herself, Lorelei picked the woman up off the floor, earning a surprised squeak from Cora. She gently put her back onto the bed and began disentangling her from the sheets. Eventually, she got the woman's head uncovered, the rest of her still resembling a mummy. "You're adorable."

"No." Cora stared at the siren who sat there beside her with the Cheshire cat grin she so often sported. "I am not adorable. I am an evil witch, capable of the most horrible things. I have killed hundreds of people. I have crushed the hearts of people for no other reason than to watch them die. I am evil, not adorable."

Pursing her lips, Lorelei pinched her cheek, "You are an evil witch who teases too much. I have told you a thousand times, you simply can't handle it when you wind me up for days. You poor, adorable thing."

Fighting out of the sheets, Cora tried to smack the sirens hand from her cheek, which ultimately resulted in being pinned down and thoroughly kissed. Just as things were getting particularly interesting, there was a series of shouts just outside the window. The pair hesitated, weighing the potential ways to deal with this. Cora immediately decided to ignore it, unfortunately, Lorelei was curious and managed to fend off the half crazed woman by magicking the sheets back around her head.

"You should collect yourself, my insatiable evil witch." Turning to smile at the woman she smiled cheekily, "Your family has come to save us all." She had just managed to stand up from the bed, preparing to tackle the siren to the ground again.

Cora flopped back onto the bed and groaned in irritation, "of course they came back. The Charmings are heroic idiots with no common sense or any other sense and they have cleverly used their lovely daughter to corrupt my precious daughter."

Snorting, Lorelei slapped her foot, "Your precious daughter is leading this circus." At the sound of Cora mumbling into the pillows the siren chuckled again and transported herself to the street.

"Welcome back! Tell the truth, you missed me." She purposely appeared behind the group, the startled jumps and gasps did her heart good. She expected a few disapproving glances, maybe a few angry ones, but she hadn't expected anger and blushes… "What's wrong? I couldn't have scared you that badly."

David and Henry immediately had spun back around after seeing the siren for just a split second. Emma had managed to get a good 5 second eyeful before blushing and looking to the ground. Regina just looked incredibly pissed. Snow blushed, took a good look and then quirked an eyebrow before turning around with the boys.

"Oh! Regina, I didn't think you would be back so soon." Cora came out of the building in a lovely gown. She squinted a bit at the group of blushes and one intensely angry Regina, before turning to the siren and letting a few bursts of giggles out before she slapped Lorelei's arm and told her, "Lorelei, how many times have I told you to do a clothing check before leaving our room?"

Glancing down at herself the siren started giggling with her and with a flash of light, she was clothed in silver leathers once more. "My bad." Slowly everyone turned around again, red faces and all. Regina still looked mad, but there was a significant amount of embarrassment in that face too. Snow made the mistake of making eye contact with the siren, and after Lorelei bit her lower lip and winked, she had a redder face than anyone else as she suddenly needed to brush invisible dust off her clothing.

Emma decided to interrupt the situation just about the time Cora took a step towards Snow mumbling something under her breath that Emma thought sounded along the lines of needing to keep their eyes to themselves. "SO! Let's talk about how Lorelei lied to us!"

Well, that got everyone's attention, Cora looked offended, the siren seemed to be weighing Emma with her eyes. Emma was a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny, so it was Regina's turn to step in. "I agree." She looked the siren right in the eye, "We were told a story about you and Hades when you were alive. We would like to know if it's true and I have a few questions also. But, once that is over, we are here to help you keep him from taking over." She knew Lorelei could destroy her without blinking or breaking a sweat, but if she was going to die… again… she was going to do it standing tall and looking her right in the eye.

Taking a long deep breath, Lorelei decided to let this happen, "Alright. Tell me what the imp told you and I will correct it and then answer your questions." She looked at Cora then and she wondered if this strange woman who seemed to have managed to enchant the queen of the sirens would still want to spend her time with her with the knowledge of how she came to be here now. She had accepted some time ago that Cora was incredibly unique, the spirits Lorelei entertained herself with never held her attention for more than two or three "visits". But then along came Cora Mills. As soon as Lorelei saw the spirit standing on the plains, not even trying to wander around, just waiting as if a carriage would be by shortly to pick her up, she knew she was different. Usually, the golden sirens were sent to patrol the plains, along with demons from Hades, to find spirits and take them where they belonged. That day however, Lorelei was looking for new company and had happened upon Cora. She had offered her some time on a beach, and had not managed to grow bored of her since then. She frowned slightly at the thought that she would miss the woman if she walked away from her…

Regina retold the story Rumple had relayed to them. Lorelei remained silent and maintained a blank expression until Regina had finished and the silence began to draw out. "I'm a bit impressed he knew the story so well. I had thought it had been lost long ago, various legends and myths I have heard, but always changing, stretching into vague remnants of the truth. He is a very resourceful person." She seemed to be searching the sky, somewhat lost in thought. "He had it correct though, well, except for the last bit about loving one another still. That love died the moment I pulled him off the cliff with me."

She stared at the sky for a few more moments, before she felt fingers intertwine with hers. Looking down, she found Cora with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this? You said you didn't remember how you or him came to be."

Smiling warmly at the woman holding her hand, she glanced at Regina quickly before answering, "Sometimes we want to forget the past. In my case, I wanted to forget the past and myself." Cora squeezed her hand and gave her a smile in return.

"And the sirens? The other ones I mean. How did they come about, and what happened to them?" Emma asked.

"The sirens I created, predominantly in my image, obviously. I needed help collecting spirits and, honestly, I needed a bit of company. Since they are pieces of me, I simply brought my pieces back together. If I am going up against Hades I will need my pieces. The four I left out are needed to guard the water passage and also the gates to my fields. That's why they only produce music when they speak. I don't need to hear the words to know what they are saying, they are, essentially me. Which is why they spend so much time dancing and playing music. That's what I do in my own head, so that's what they do naturally. Everything they do, is basically me doing it." She shrugged.

At some point, Cora took on a look of thoughtfulness instead of adoration. Cocking a brow at Lorelei she asked her, "They don't just sing and dance. They bang pretty much every female spirit who isn't thrown into tartarus."

Pursing her lips Lorelei raised both brows and attempted to think of a way out of this one, "well, I mean, they have free will, they pretty much do what they want. It's not like I _feel_ with them…" She stammered a bit more before Cora broke into laughter.

"I'm just teasing you dear. Besides, if that's the reason you know absolutely every way imaginable to.." She was cut short by an unusually loud cough from Regina.

As all eyes snapped to her, Regina cleared her throat and said, "oh, sorry, must have inhaled a bit of sand."

Emma, with a sense of self preservation, managed to keep her laugh inside. "Well, ok then. I have a question. What are we going to do about all the death headed our way?"

Releasing Cora's hand, the siren rubbed her hands together, silver sparks appearing around them. "We are going to do several things. First off, we need a few friends. It is rather fortunate you incredibly valorous, and stupid people came back." As her eyes flashed silver she told them just before transporting them, "Because someone needs to fetch some righteous souls for me."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As the flash vanished around them, the group found themselves on the beach again. It was strangely empty without the music and dancing sirens. They stood on the beach, the ocean to their backs and the impossibly high cliff was to their front. There was a massive golden curtain on the cliff wall that shimmered like it was made of liquid gold. Two golden sirens were lounging in front of the curtain and they stood as the group approached them. Lorelei stopped short of entering and stared at it in a wistful manner. "Welcome to paradise". Lorelei told them as she gestured to the golden curtain.

The living studied the curtain, somewhat entranced by the beauty of it. Snow reached out and since no one yelled at her, she touched the curtain. It felt like warm water and made her skin tingle as it flowed over her hand, as the golden warmth began wrapping around her upper arm, Snow felt she should reach further and further, leaning into the curtain of gold…

The two golden sirens giggled with the sound of a flute and a mandolin as they gently pulled Snow White back from the gold that was attempting to pull her in. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts Snow took David's hand and tried to make him touch it, "David it's amazing. It feels like… like… happiness and warmth and…" She trailed off, obviously unable to express her thoughts entirely.

Lorelei smiled at her and nodded, "Yes, that's the effects of the fields. Beyond this curtain is rolling plains with waterfalls and rivers and, I don't know, unicorns probably."

Regina lifted a brow at the siren, "probably? You don't know? I thought you created this place."

Sighing, Lorelei turned from the curtain and looked sadly at Regina, "I had to make sure that if Hades ever succeeded in destroying me or whatever, the really good spirits would still be in their paradise that they really deserve. The only way to do that was to ensure only the really fluffy bunny good souls could enter here. For example, Snow White."She gestured at Snow then and then at David. "They would be welcomed in as would Henry, I assume."

Emma frowned at the siren, "What about me and Regina?"

"Emma, you might have been taken in before the darkness got in you, but once something like that takes a hold on you, I'm afraid not. Regina… yeah reformed doesn't really count." Lorelei smiled apologetically at the pair before going on. "You're a good fit for the plains though. Not even close to being sent to tartarus. As for me, well…" Lorelei reached towards the curtain, at the point where Snow's hand had slid through, Lorelei's hand stopped as if the golden wall was solid as rock. Her hand slid across it, but it didn't let her in. Dropping her hand slowly, she went on, "I can't enter, neither can Hades."

Cora put a hand on the sirens back, patting her reassuringly. "Neither can I dear. It probably sucks in there anyway. Probably just full of sunshine and rainbows and morning people anyway. Everyone skipping around and singing about love and hugs."

Lorelei smiled at her and took her hand, squeezing a bit before continuing. "I hate morning people. Snow, David I need the two of you to go in there and fetch a few people for me."

The Charmings nodded and David asked, "Alright. But what makes you think they will leave paradise to come out here?"

Snorting with amusement Lorelei rolled her eyes, "Please. These spirits are the greatest heroes the worlds have ever known. They seriously cannot help themselves when someone even remotely suggests that a hero is needed. Seriously, walk in there and say "if only there were someone…" and you will be ass deep in heroes before you can finish the sentence."

Regina chuckled darkly and nudged Snow, "I would suggest using a sleeping curse, but that has only attracted idiots every time I used it."

David and Emma looked quite unamused. "Ha ha. Just tell us who you need." David told the siren.

"Ok. Firstly, you must find Hercules." Lorelei was interrupted by a tortured sounding groan from Emma.

"Hercules? Really? Is like, Zeus number two on the list?" Emma sounded a little sick of the imaginary people becoming real thing.

"Zeus? Zeus was a prick, not to mention one of the worst kings that Greece ever had. Why would he be in paradise?" Lorelei decided it wasn't worth the argument so turned back to David and Snow instead continuing, "Anyway, Hercules can help you find everyone else. I have been told he ushers new spirits around so he should come to you, but I would also appreciate his help out here." She took a breath then, creasing her brow, "You should find the three sisters. I know it sounds vague but trust me, if you ask for the three sisters, they will know who you mean. Any heroes who happen to volunteer are welcome, but make sure they know the risks. They could be destroyed, permanently."

When she stopped speaking and didn't seem to be readying to continue, Cora nudged her with a shoulder, "You forgot Demeter and her daughter."

Lorelei clenched her jaw and frowned, looking specifically not at Cora or anyone else, "and Demeter and her daughter." She got close to David's face then and added, "And you tell them both that if they so much as mention our past to me I will chain them to rocks and leave them to drown for eternity in the ocean. I swear it."

The pair looked at her with questions written on their faces, but that was a pretty good threat so they just decided to nod instead.

Lorelei nodded, apparently satisfied with their response. "Right, get on it then." She gestured to the curtain but then hastily added, "Oh! If you come across someone named Atalanta, tell her I've got a golden apple with her name on it." Lorelei winked and laughed as Snow and David stepped through the curtain of gold. She giggled right up until she made eye contact with Cora. Snapping to a serious face, she then frowned at Cora. "Hey, you made me invite Demeter and her ridiculous daughter. I should at least get one friendly soul out of this nonsense."

Cora grunted her displeasure and wandered toward the ocean.

"Why didn't you send Henry also? If it's safe in there, I would prefer if he went." Regina asked Lorelei after Cora walked off.

"Neat trick, you have to want to go to paradise. People very rarely refuse, obviously, but if they do, you can't make them. And based on the time I have known Henry, I am guessing he doesn't want to go." Lorelei had gotten closer to Henry while talking. "Why precisely did you not wish to go?"

"I don't want to hide out in paradise. I want to help, with the fight." Henry explained to the siren. "And if you're short on battle music, I have a head full of it.

"Really?" Lorelei asked. When Henry nodded, Lorelei put her hand on his head and began snapping her fingers quickly, every time she snapped, Henry blinked.

"What are you doing?" Regina was about to pull her hand off, but Lorelei spoke first, stopping her.

"I'm sort of, downloading. Usually I do this slowly and you all never notice. But I'm curious now so I wanted to speed it up." She continued snapping very quickly, Henry blinking in time to the snapping. All at once she pulled her hand back, quit snapping and stared at him with both brows raised, "Does your mother know what you listen to?"

Henry blushed and looked down, a grimace on his face, "well she will now…"

Lorelei shook her head a bit and looked around, "well that'll do nicely, you had quite a few new ones. Very nice Henry. But I think you will come in a bit more handy than just a sweet playlist."

Henry looked his question at her, and she answered the look, "I can tell an awful lot about someone based on the thoughts associated with the music in their minds." She gave him an appraising look then. "you have a lot of hope locked up in there. You're one hell of a believer."

Henry beamed at her, "Yeah, I've heard that before."

Emma and Regina smiled at him and each other, taking one another's hand. They couldn't be prouder of their son. He had grown so much. Cora shouted at them from beside the ocean "Come relax with me! The water is very nice!"

Lorelei immediately started towards the lunatic waving by the water as if no one could see her. Emma messed up Henry's hair and he raced off towards the ocean. Regina pulled Emma around as she tried to follow Henry. "Wait a minute." As Emma was about to ask what she meant, Regina pulled Emma in close and kissed her.

When the lips separated, Emma gave the brunette a lopsided grin, "what's that for?"

Regina put her hands on Emma's hips and whispered against her lips, "for giving us an amazing son." She smiled and pulled back just a bit when Emma tried to kiss her again then added, "lucky for us, I raised him and made him even better." She then twisted out of Emma's arms and ran towards the beach, leaving a stunned Emma to stumble into a run to follow her.

After chasing each other around and pretending to not want to be caught, Emma and Regina lounged on the sand and soon everyone else was lying around on the sand too. A thought struck Regina after a few minutes, "Not to be the bearer of bad news but, shouldn't we be preparing to fight for our lives?"

Lorelei pulled her gaze up from Emma's chest and met Regina's angry eyes, "time doesn't really work as you know it to here. I can feel Hades power building, but seeing as how I can't do anything until my heroes come out of paradise, I sort of put it on hold."

Pulling her shirt up to cover every trace of cleavage, Emma asked the siren, "you can stop time? That probably would have been handy like a thousand times now."

Laughing, Lorelei leaned back on her elbows, "Not exactly. Remember how when we traveled from the black barrier into tartarus to the river Styx?" She waited for the nods of everyone before continuing, "Now remember how close the barrier was to the river when we were there the second time?"

As a look of confusion took over Emma's features she answered, "It was like right beside us. So close you told us to run for it before you vanished us."

Smiling Lorelei went on, "Yes. During our first journey I sort of… stretched… time. It's hard to explain but, it's not stopping time, just sort of stretching. Hades is still going to get his power, he is still going to attack us and likely kill everything in the underworld, but so long as we stay in one area, namely this beach, I can stretch out the gap in between when we came here and when he blasts us out of existence." She shrugged like she just explained how to pick your nose.

Regina laughed a little at Emma's expression, but she didn't understand either. Instead of trying to piece the information together, she decided to ask a different question. "What is the story of Demeter and her daughter?"

Lorelei released an agonized groan as she flopped to her back on the sand, "No. That is a horrible story and I have already shared enough of my life with you people. In fact, I have shared too much of my life and my death to you… and my after death life for that matter."

Cora giggled and poked the siren in the ribs, earning several grunts in response. "Tell them darling, or I will and you know I have a flair for the dramatic!"

Swatting away Cora's poking hands, Lorelei frowned at the woman before again sitting up on her elbows. "Fine. But you're getting the short version." Cora nodded happily and sat next to her, listening attentively. "Let's see. First of all, Demeter was alive when this bull shit took place. Her daughter was half dead. Persephone had gotten herself stabbed by a thief and instead of letting her die, her mother Demeter brought her to the underworld because things don't change here, so instead of bleeding to death and dying like a good mortal, Persephone went into a sort of half dead state where she would die as soon as she left here, but remained alive while she was here."

"Wait. Demeter, Persephone…. Weren't they Roman gods?" Everyone looked at Henry who had asked the question.

"Actually I believe in your world Demeter was labeled as the Greek goddess of harvest." Lorelei laughed then and decided to explain a bit more on this part, "Their weren't gods or goddesses. That nonsense started way back in history when there was magic in your realm. The problem is this: there can't be magic and science in the same realm. In the enchanted forest, magic took over and became dominant, which is why they still use chamber pots. In your realm, science was the victor, which is why your doctors have to cut people open to heal them." Seeing a bit of understanding, she continued, "Now, in the beginning of any realm, both science and magic exist, but in small amounts. In the time before one force dominates over the other, it can be a bit confusing. Basically you end up with non magic humans figuring things out and the other half poofing everything. Now, Emma can tell you that seeing magic for the first time, coming from a realm of science, is incredibly unbelievable. So, imagine way back in time, when science was beginning to pull ahead, that you have a few people who can fly, or make things grows instantly. Instead of shooting for magic, they guessed a more scientific explanation. Religion doesn't need to be proven, because it is faith based. If you worship a "God" and they grant you a fruitful harvest instantly, it's because of faith and godliness."

Regina nodded understanding, "science dominated therefore everything needed an explanation. Except religion which is based on not needing an explanation. Therefore when Demeter used magic to make the crops grow, the people used the only explanation science would allow, which happens to be no explanation, therefore, religion."

"Exactly. Like when I mentioned Zeus being a king. He was a king who could wield powerful magic. People immortalized his name as a god because of the things he could do. He was also a prick." Lorelei pointed at everyone in turn, "Remember that part. I told him when I handed him over to the demons I would make sure everyone knew he was just a prick with magic." Everyone nodded and Emma urged the siren to get on with the interesting story, she was sick of this history lesson. "Anyway, Demeter brought her daughter here so she wouldn't die. I found them, because the living coming to the underworld is rather interesting. I told them to get the hell out and die like everyone else. Apparently this pissed Demeter off pretty good so she pretended to be leaving, until I left them there on the shore with the boat, assuming they were leaving." She rolled her eyes then, "but of course, the living are so dramatic, they didn't leave. They wandered awhile until Hades demons found them, and since they were living, the demons thought Hades would be interested, and so the demons took them to him. Well, he wasn't overly interested in Demeter, he immediately popped her back to the river on the plains. Persephone however… well she caught his eye."

Emma had to interrupt then, "Hades has girlfriends too? Oh my god, you two are just down here having sex parties! Meanwhile, I just realized the underworld must be full of dudes with blue balls because you're both banging chicks." Regina slapped her arm and gave her a disapproving frown, motioning for Lorelei to continue after Emma looked properly chastised.

"Yeah, Hades bangs bitches too." Laughing she went on, "he doesn't fancy many who go his way, usually they are dead, obviously, and Hades really has a thing for life. So, when the young and oh so beautiful Persephone strolled into his castle, well he snapped her up pretty quick. And I do mean snapped her up, she wanted to find her mother, he forced her to stay as his "guest". Meanwhile, Demeter managed to grab one of my sirens and call for me. Not gonna lie, I smacked this shit out of her for not leaving. But eventually she convinced me to save her daughter from Hades. In exchange for saving her brat, she was going to grant me some sweet ass powers. I never found out what powers, however, and let me tell you why…" The siren stood then, pacing in irritation. Cora, flopped onto her back in irritation of the pacing. "Ok, so I run off to tartarus, fighting through hordes of Hades buddies in the tunnels (he didn't empty them for me). I finally get to the castle and as I walk up the steps outside, Hades pops right in front of me, looking thoroughly harassed, and throws this girl at me. Right, well as it turns out, Persephone was a pain in the ass when she doesn't want to be kept as a guest. All she did was whine and scream at him, and demand crazy things like exact numbers of certain seeds, pomegranate I think. He had to count them himself and in the end he would count 398 and she would eat like 3 before throwing them at him screaming again. So, I transported me and this girl to her mother and asked for my reward but she said that I didn't actually rescue her, Hades released her. Then the bitches jumped on the boat and left."

Cora was laughing now. "They tricked you, and made Hades look stupid. I love those girls!"

Lorelei glared at her and kicked a little sand at her earning more laughter from Cora. "Yeah well I intended to get back at them when they died, which Persephone died almost immediately, but somehow they managed to be really good people and my sirens escorted them to paradise in turn before I got my hands on them. I hadn't had my sirens for very long and they weren't fully programmed."

Lorelei and Cora started play fighting and Henry was down the beach a bit, making a sand castle. He had apparently gotten bored and wandered off. Regina decided to make the most of this moment of somewhat alone time with Emma and pushed her to her back on the sand, leaning over her and kissing her deeply.

Emma didn't seem to mind the aggression as she moaned into the kiss. When Regina seemed to be pulling back, Emma rolled on top off her quick enough to make Regina gasp in surprise. Emma put her arms on either side of the brunettes head to keep her weight mostly off of her. With a raised brow and a smirk, Regina pulled Emma down on top of her, crashing their lips together and making Emma moan again against her mouth. At about the point where Emma was drifting her hand under the hem of Regina's shirt, Cora screamed.

Flying apart and up to their feet, both women looked around frantically, finding nothing, they focused on Cora with intense curiosity.

Cora put a hand on her heart and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. "Oh thank god! I am so happy I was here to save you Regina!"

Regina frowned deeply and yelled at her mother, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Cora took on a wide eyed, very serious face and reached out to grip Regina's forearm, "Regina, my dear, you very nearly submitted to the darkness in your pelvis." Regina ripped her arm back from Cora and very nearly slapped her mother. Pulling back in mock offense Cora added, "Well, having sex on an underworld beach is no way to start a relationship."

"This coming from a woman who has been sleeping with the siren queen." Regina huffed, trying to swat Emma for giggling while keeping her glare on her mother. "Stop laughing miss Swan! You'll encourage her."

Lorelei stepped between them before Regina started throwing magic around; that could stop the time stretch she had going on. "Now Cora, do you really think you can stop them?"

"I can as long as they're here. They have already broken so many rules it's practically ludicrous to even call it a royal engagement at this point." Cora defended.

"Whoa, who said royal engagement?" Emma wasn't laughing now.

Regina rolled her eyes and gripped Emma's hand to soothe her, "Emma, you're a princess, remember? And I'm a queen. My mother also happens to be an old school political psycho."

"Regina, really. Even you should be capable of following the simplest rules of courting another royal." Cora looked actually offended at Regina's lack of royal etiquette.

"Mother. Where we are from, I am a mayor, not a queen. Emma is a sheriff, not a princess."

Cora was about to argue the case further by pointing out the definition of fraternization, but was interrupted by Henry shouting, "look! They're back!"

Everyone turned, expecting to see Snow and David, and maybe a few more, but as Snow and David approached them, hundreds of spirits came pouring out of the golden curtain. "We found a few volunteers" Snow said brightly as she stopped in front of them. One woman from the crowd, wearing a long white robe, took long strides ahead of the others and when she got in front of Lorelei she slapped her very soundly across the face.

"That, is for me and my sisters, you treacherous tramp!" The woman shouted at her as two other spirits, also in long white robes, emerged from the crowd to pull her back. They gave Lorelei wide, toothy grins, one of them actually winking at her.

Cora immediately cupped the sirens face to check for injury, but Lorelei smiled and then laughed loudly and called out, "Clotho! I have missed you the least! Lachesis and Atropos… it's a tie." She smiled back at the two smiling women and made a blowing kiss to the infuriated one.

"I'll bet you lunch for a week when we get back that this won't be the first pissed off woman we meet." Emma whispered in Regina's ear, close enough to make her shiver at the feeling.

Smiling Regina whispered back, "I'll buy lunch for two weeks if my mother doesn't strangle a woman within ten minutes… there's an awful lot of women in this group."

As the group began to surround the siren in particular, it appeared to shift in to two parts. One part was holding towards the back of the crowd, mostly made up of male spirits, and the other half was entirely women who were pushing to get closer to the siren, who had started backing towards the water with her hands up in surrender. Cora had stepped over by Henry and whispered in his ear, "my dear grandson, you're about to witness first hand why you should never be promiscuous."

Henry groaned and began reconsidering hiding in paradise…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Emma and Regina couldn't help but laugh with one another as they watched the siren get backed into the small waves that were lapping against the sand. Emma was thoroughly amused watching the usually cool and confident siren looking around frantically from woman to woman in the crowd as they fired questions and comments at her and she couldn't come close to keeping up with them. Emma couldn't even tell who was asking what as they berated her, always pushing closer.

"You said you would call me back out".

"You said I was different than the others".

"I can't believe you have been seeing other women!"

Lorelei attempted to answer a few comments, but she wasn't doing too well, "Yes, okay but…No, I did mean to… Yes you were very… I didn't give a timeline…. Yes you're still very lovely…" As Lorelei attempted to soothe the women (and was really only making them more mad) she stepped backwards and tripped, falling on her ass with a splash that made Regina laugh hard enough to start tearing up. Emma actually snorts in her laughter when a wave crashes over the sitting siren, depositing a nasty looking lump of seaweed right on her head.

Lorelei quit talking then and didn't bother standing back up after a series of small waves ran through her, some washing the weeds off, some leaving more behind on her head and shoulders. Instead she crossed her arms on her chest and frowned at the water around her as the women continued their bitching. She felt like this was ridiculous. After all, this wasn't even half, not even a tenth of the women she had shared moments with in her life in the underworld. It brought a small smile to her to think how mad they would be if they knew about the multitude of others, but the smile was washed away as another wave deposited a particularly slimy bit of weeds onto her head. As she silently raged at the sea and the women, the ever delightful Clotho decided to yell all the others into silence. Intrigued, Lorelei chanced looking up at the small, robed woman standing above her.

Clotho addressed the crowd, "listen, I know you all feel this whore deceived you," Lorelei opened her mouth to protest but got a mouthful of seawater from a small wave instead, "but in reality, all she did was show you a good time for a short while. And I know, trust me, that it was fantastic. But, did you really think someone this amazing was only seeing you?" She paused and the crowd grudgingly nodded in understanding, and seemed to actually cool down. Lorelei considered thanking Clotho later… "Now, I should be the only one here really mad." Shit, thought Lorelei, no thanks for her… "my sisters and I died at the same time and she had us all three convinced, at the same time, that she was only seeing the one of us." Lorelei did laugh a bit then, seawater and all. Turning to look down at the siren, Clotho asked, "What are you laughing at? You think deceiving us is funny?" Lorelei shook her head and pointed at the other two women in white robes. She couldn't really speak with the water so she just raised a brow and smiled at them.

Lachesis spoke first, "well, you know Clotho, we kind of knew she was seeing all of us."

Clotho turned red faced in anger and yelled at the third sister, "You knew?"

Atropos stepped up to her irate sister and raised both brows with hands on hips and told her very loudly, "yes, we knew because one night after Lachesis and I enjoyed her company, together, she asked if you would be interested also and we told her you would never because you are a greedy possessive prude!"

Lorelei fell back in the water entirely as she laughed hysterically while the three sisters pummeled each other. It caught on quickly and before much time, the entire group of women were swinging at each other on the beach.

Cora didn't seem to mind at all, even when the group shifted to trying to drown one another and the siren in the waves. She leaned down a bit and told Henry, "now, what have you learned?"

Henry had taken to staring at the sand as he kicked it around with his foot. "I have learned women are crazy and when I find a good one I like I should marry her and never look at another one ever for the rest of my life or they might kill each other."

"Very good. Now let's stop this nonsense shall we?" Cora asked and when Henry nodded quickly she waved at a woman who was hanging out in the back of the quiet crowd.

A very loud, ear piercing whistle rang through the air, stopping everyone in mid swing. All eyes turned to a tall, very muscular woman in a flowing white dress who had whistled. Once she had everyone's attention she yelled for all to hear, "That's enough! Get out of the damn water and leave the tramp alone! We didn't come here to drown a siren!"

The women seemed to be intimidated by this tall woman and they all obeyed, well all except Lorelei of course. The siren sat in the water, looking decidedly amused.

The tall woman walked into the small waves and offered the siren a hand up, "come on, you've gotten enough women soaked for today." Grinning like the Cheshire cat, Lorelei took the offered hand and they walked towards the dry beach.

"There is no such thing as enough wet women, my dear Atalanta. Why, you are one of the few I haven't had the privilege of becoming better acquainted with." Lorelei leered at the tall woman, even as Atalanta snorted in a dismissing way.

"You keep your lusty eyes off me siren. The fact that I wisely declined your offers is why I am here to help you instead of being here to beat you. Besides, I heard you found yourself a permanent acquaintance…" She turned then and called Cora to come over, which she did, leaving Henry to wander to the back of the people with Snow and David.

"Permanent? I wouldn't say that… I mean, eventually she'll wander off or I will." Lorelei didn't sound overly sure of herself.

"No no. I'm staying, and so are you." When Lorelei raised her brows in question to Cora she continued, "You heard me. You can go when I say you can and not a minute sooner. And until that non existent day comes, you will entertain me and me alone." Cora said it as if talking to a child, as if Lorelei should have come to this conclusion on her own and was an idiot for not having found it.

Atalanta roared with laughter and slapped Lorelei roughly on the back, "See there? You are practically married my friend." She continued laughing until an even taller man, with muscles so big and hard they looked to be straining to break out of his flesh approached them.

"Well, this was expected, but now that it's done, can we get to our business?" The man spoke mildly, which was a stark contrast to his appearance.

Lorelei waved the living people over to join them before she introduced him, "living people, this is Hercules. That, is Atalanta. Atalanta, Hercules, these are the biggest pain in the ass, dramatic, difficult living beings to have ever existed." She gestured as she spoke and when Cora raised a brow she rolled her eyes and pointed to everyone in turn as she spoke, "Regina the boobs, Emma the ass, Snow the face, David the man, and Henry the boy." She smiled at the unamused faces.

Hercules shook David's hand and then Henry's, reaching around to ignore the women. Atalanta shook everyone's hand and explained, "Herc here comes from a time when single men didn't acknowledge other men's.. "possessions". Apparently it was considered coveting another mans property." She rolled her eyes at him. "Neanderthal."

He did glare at Atalanta then, but spoke to Lorelei, "I am ready to lead these righteous spirits against Hades. We will pull him down for you."

"Still got that shining sense of humor huh.." the siren nodded then and continued, "you all are not going to go anywhere near Hades." Not only did Hercules and Atalanta begin protesting, all the spirits were suddenly circling them and yelling at her all over again. She took on a very serious face and a pulse of silver light waved out from her, jostling all the spirits into silence. "No. You will not argue with me now. Not on this one. I need all of you to help me free his tortured masses, specifically in the inner ring area."

Regina noticed the confused looks turning to outright bewilderment at the mention of the inner ring so she asked, "what is the inner ring?"

"The inner ring is where the very darkest souls reside. They are kept bound in chains and cages and are tortured non stop, around the clock by Hades demons. These spirits have no hope. They are so vile and repulsive, no one ensnared in the inner circle has ever been redeemed. The first man sent there in the beginning of the first realm is still there, and he always will be. Hades keeps them sane, keeps them awake. Those are the spirits I need to free." Lorelei creased her brow as she spoke, her silver eyes looking darker as she told them of this inner circle.

"Why would you free those souls? Lorelei, I know how you feel about the dead, but those souls even you must see do not deserve a minutes respite. They are truly the damned." Hercules argued.

Lorelei sighed, "I cannot tell you why. It is not that I do not trust you, it is more because I do trust you all." Everyone was confused by this, except Cora who seemed to take on a sad smile. "I can only tell you this, if Hades comes before I am finished freeing the souls there, I will immediately send you all away. He has the power now to destroy you for all time. I will react as quickly as I can, but if he lashes out before I can send you away… You may be erased from time."

There was a murmur through the spirits, but in the end, they all stayed and nodded their support… Except for one woman. A woman pushed her way roughly through the crowd, she was a middle aged woman, very beautiful and had an air of authority around herself. She had a very firm grip on the hand of a young, equally pretty girl, dragging her along through the crowd with her. She stood directly in front of the siren, looking up into her face because she was at least a foot shorter that Lorelei. "Absolutely not. I wouldn't risk my daughter to such a fate. And this is not my fight either."

Barely containing a growl, Lorelei towered over her, "Demeter. I knew you wouldn't risk your daughter or yourself. That's not what I need you for and you know it."

Demeter looked up at her, not phased by the towering siren in the least bit, "we had a deal, siren. You didn't do your part."

The young girl being drug around spoke up finally, "Mother. She was on the stairs when he threw me out, she was going to save me. Give her the magic so we can go back to paradise. It smells like fish out here." Persephone rolled her eyes and tugged her mother's hand like a two year old, "Please mommy. I'm bored out here." Demeter shook her head with enthusiasm. Persephone seemed to think for a few seconds before an idea lit up her face. She tugged her hand free from her mother's and pushed her back so she could wrap her arms around Lorelei's neck, hanging there nose to nose with a very startled looking siren she said, "Fine! If you won't give her the magic, I will give her me!"

Demeter pulled her daughter back very violently by her golden hair and threw something at Lorelei before dragging her daughter by the hand back towards the golden curtain. Before they got too far, Persephone gave a massive grin and a thumbs up to Lorelei, stumbling to keep up with her mother.

The siren stared at the pair rushing to the curtain until they disappeared. She then scratched her head and blinked while shaking her head. "Well ok then. That was really easier than I had anticipated, and more arousing than I expected soooo… win win." She smiled at a tiny glass vile in her hand, Demeters magic gift.

"What is it?" Emma asked squinting at the vial.

All Lorelei said was "Magic". And then she vanished the vial in a silver spark. She then took a deep breath and told the entire beach, "We will leave very soon. If there is someone you would like to say anything to in case you do not return, I suggest doing so now." Some spirits wandered down the beach with others, some ducked back into the golden curtain. Eventually only the living, Cora and the siren were left standing there together.

Cora took Lorelei by the hand and said, "that means you too darling." They smiled at each other and began slowly walking along the water line.

Snow and David sat on the sand and told Henry a story about some heroic thing they had done. Emma thought she would stay with Henry, but Regina had other plans now that her mother looked distracted. "Emma…." She whispered into the other woman's ear and gestured with her head towards a small outcropping of rocks against the cliffs. They walked so as not to draw anyone's attention, but they walked quickly. As soon as the rock was between them and Cora, Regina pushed Emma against the flat rock with her body while giving her a very heated kiss, tangling the blonde curls around her hands. After a few moments, Regina pulled back, smiling at Emma's fluttering eyelids. "I wanted to make sure you know I love you in case I die again, or in case you do."

Emma pulled Regina impossibly closer with her hands on her hips and kissed her again, biting her lip a little before telling her, "I know you love me. And I love you. And neither of us is allowed to die."

"Not allowed?" Regina was trying to make her heart slow down, it felt to be beating double time.

Another small kiss and Emma answered, "Not allowed. I have waited too many years to get my hands on you, I will not let you die now." She smiled and gripped Regina's hips harder as she teased her lips with the tip of her tongue. Regina didn't need to be asked twice and eagerly deepened the kiss. Both women moaned into the kiss as their tongues caressed one another's. Emma made kissing difficult when she smiled, but she couldn't help it, she finally had a hand up Regina's shirt. Regina was smiling too as Emma's hand tickled along her ribs. Emma drifted her hand from her ribs to her back, feeling the silky skin down Regina's back, tracing along her spine. Regina took her lower lip between her teeth, pushing against Emma's hips with her own, spurring Emma into boldness.

Emma shifted her fingers back to ribs and then… she was trying to breath through the ocean. She was in the water. Under water actually. Stunned, she frantically swam for the surface. Finally breaking into the air and gulping and coughing as she swam towards the shore. She could see Snow and David holding Regina back from throttling her mother. Cora just stood there calmly talking. Emma couldn't hear it but she looked to be pissing Regina off better. The only bright side here was that the cold ocean water and drowning had cooled the heat her body had been feeling a few moments ago.

As Emma walked out of the water, Regina stalked up to her and magicked her clothes dry. "If my mother wasn't already dead I would kill her myself… I'm sorry Emma." She went from angry face to smiling as Emma wrapped her arms around her and kissed her again. It wasn't as passionate, but Regina could feel the love there. How was she supposed to be infuriated when Emma kissed her like that?

"It's ok. But I would help you kill her." Emma smiled at her as they walked back towards her parents and Cora. She glared at Cora and asked her, "what is your problem exactly?"

Cora rolled her eyes as if she had explained already, because she had, to Regina. "I am not going to stand by and let you defile my daughter before you marry her."

Snow came out of left field and shouted at Cora, "my daughter wasn't defiling your daughter Cora! They were expressing their love before they possibly die. And besides, if anyone was being defiled it would be Emma. My daughter has a pure heart."

Emma hung her head, squeezing Regina's free hand. Regina's other hand was pinching the bridge of her nose. The two queens argued for a few minutes before David used two fingers to whistle loudly.

"Hey! No one defiled anyone! This isn't the enchanted forest, no one here is royalty." He waved towards Emma and Regina, "They are in love and as far as I'm concerned, they can poof to an underworld hotel and consummate things right now." He frowned slightly and after glancing at the two quickly he added, "But maybe just don't right now because we're going into battle?"

Emma laughed and eventually, Regina quit holding it in and laughed with her. Cora glared at Snow who glared back at her, but they quit arguing. Everyone sat together after that and swapped stories of happy times. Eventually Lorelei joined them from wherever she had gone while Cora was busy defending Regina's morals. The siren told them about how the three sisters were in some histories as The Fates, but actually they were three sisters who never married because every time one would be attracted to a man, the other two would become incredibly jealous and since they were so close, the sister would break it off. The legend of The Fates came about because they would kill the man who created the jealousy. Using magic, of course, so no one knew they had killed them. They would foretell the death of the men, and when they died they would announce it immediately. Usually while far away, so no one suspected them. Eventually they convinced people they controlled the threads of people's lives. Which is why they always knew. This caused people to worship them, in an attempt to win their favor so the sisters wouldn't cut their threads. So basically they were insane murderers, but with magic.

Eventually the stories had to stop, and when they did Lorelei stood and nodded to the living and took Cora by the hand, helping her stand. "Well, let's go get killed." Everyone smiled and nodded and followed the siren to where the spirits had gathered again. The battle was about to commence.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you to all who have given me such positive reviews! I appreciate it greatly! As always, I do not OUAT or the characters.**

Chapter 14

As the group of living followed the siren towards the spirit group, Lorelei turned to Henry and told him, "I need to speak to you a bit Henry, away from everyone else." Henry nodded but Regina and Emma began immediately protesting. Smiling, Lorelei waved her hand and both women splashed into the ocean waves. She lifted a brow at David and Snow and although both shook their heads no, she waved and all four were swimming for shore. "There. Now it's just us!" She put her hands on Henry's shoulders, and looked him in the eye very seriously. "I need your help Henry."

Henry nodded saying, "that's why I'm here. I want to help."

Nodding to him she continued, "I know. But it could be dangerous. I don't mean like a broken bone or something pleasant like that…" she then removed her hands from him and removed the silver charm from her chest, bouncing it a few times in her palm before she spoke again. "This charm, it's sort of like my heart. It's the best parts of me. I don't have to have it. I can perform all my magic and all my music without it. But, kind of like your heart, I need it to really feel things."

Nodding, Henry added, "like the way Cora was evil and crazy when she didn't have her heart for most of her life, but now she can love people and be loved."

"Exactly! Now, I'm going to give this to you. I don't usually give it to men, it feels weird you understand, but you're the only chance I have in this case…" She trailed off and gently pulled his shirt collar down, and pressed the charm on to him. It flashed a moment before settling in to look like a silver tattoo. "I am going to do some pretty dark things soon. I don't want to, but it's the only way to stop Hades. The thing is, I need someone to believe I can be brought back to give my charm to. As long as you really believe I can be saved, maybe I can be. But I don't know exactly what is going to happen to me… I have an idea but, I just don't know."

Henry touched the mark on his skin, it felt cool to the touch, but nothing overly unusual. "Well, why not Cora? I mean, she loves you, if anyone can believe in you she would."

Lorelei smiled at Cora, who had stepped a little ways away to let them talk, she already knew what they were discussing anyway. "I'm not sure she has enough hope, even for me. I have never come across someone like you Henry. You might be the only person in any realm who will believe I can come back from what I'm planning."

"Well, me and you."

"No." The siren shook her head sadly, "That's the thing though, I am giving the best piece of me to you because I don't believe I will come back from the darkness. If I keep that piece, I know I will corrupt it too."

Understanding widened his eyes then, "You really think you can't come back from the things you're about to do…"

"No, I don't. I have to trust you to have hope for me too…" Looking past Henry towards the very irate group of living coming out of the water, Lorelei told him quickly, "As long as this is on you, I can't hurt you. No matter what, if that is on your skin, I can't hurt you Henry."

"But, if it's the best piece of you and you turn evil, how am I supposed to bring you back and give it back to you if you can kill me once I take it off?!"

She looked him deep in his eyes then and whispered to make sure only he could hear, "That's just it Henry, I don't know. I have no idea what I will become or how you could possibly save me. I just know that you are the only chance I have."

Regina reached them first, she had dried herself and everyone else and then made a bee line for the siren. She used her magic to slap Lorelei so hard the siren nearly fell over. Holding her cheek she glared at Regina, but didn't say anything, after all, she deserved that one. Emma, David and Snow stood back a bit and Regina pulled Henry over to them. Cora stood by the siren, after kissing her cheek.

"Henry, what did she tell you?" Looking him over quickly, Emma decided he wasn't hurt.

"She just told me I will be safe no matter what. She needs me to believe in her. That's it." Henry told them. It wasn't technically a lie.

Emma and Regina looked skeptical, but since he looked fine, they let it go.

Everyone gathered around the siren then, a thin mist of silverish fog surrounded them all and before transporting them she told them, "Alright. I will take the living to a safe place on the mountain, then I will join the rest of you. Kill the demons by beheading, we don't want them coming back soon. And if you are undone yourselves, go back to paradise. Mostly I need distraction and chaos, just a few minutes of no demons around. So all the spirits in the inner circle can move freely."

When the bright flash cleared, the living, Cora and the siren stood on a large rock outcropping over looking what must be the inner circle. Henry gasped in shock as he looked down at the area. It was a massive crater with steep sides all around. He could see spirits in chains and cages and hanging from structures, and he could see demons torturing them. If he had to guess, there was maybe 200,000 spirits down there, being tortured by half as many demons. A commotion on the far end of the crater was pulling most of the demons away from their tasks, it was a shining array of heroes cutting and slashing through any demonic throat that came near them. So far, the spirits were still restrained and the heroes would be over run in minutes…

"Everyone stand back closer to the mountain, except Henry, I need his voice for this first bit." When the two mothers hesitated at leaving him up there Lorelei was going to use magic to push them back.

"Moms, it's ok she can't hurt me even if she wanted to, and she needs me so she will protect me. I believe in her and you should too." As he spoke he pulled his collar down and showed them her charm on his chest. They nodded reluctantly but stepped back with the Charmings. Henry nodded at Lorelei to tell her he was ready as he stood a foot from the edge of the drop off down to the crater.

Taking a deep breath, Lorelei nodded back at him. Then she smiled wickedly at him and whispered, "Help me light 'em up Henry." She winked and raised her arms as the heroes below began to sing in unison and perfect pitch to the opening off one of his favorite songs.

"Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.  
Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa."

Henry felt the tiny violin on his chest flash and his voice belted out louder than he thought ever possible, and his heart soared at the amazing feeling of the entire experience. As he sang, the siren raised her arms to the sky where dark clouds began appearing and swirling.

"B-B-B-Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark  
Can't be sure when they've hit their mark  
And besides in the mean, mean time  
I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart"

The music poured from the siren herself, only the words came from Henry, her magic was building and her runes were flashing violently in time with the beating of the music. The clouds swirled faster above the crater as the heroes cut down scores of demons at a time.

"I'm in the de-details with the devil  
So now the world can never get me on my level  
I just gotta get you off the cage  
I'm a young lover's rage  
Gonna need a spark to ignite"

The Lorelei called out the next lines herself, her magic shooting to the dark clouds in blinding streaks of silver lightening.

"My songs know what you did in the dark" 

As Lorelei sang the next lines, Henry had to close his eyes because violent streaks of lightening shot from the swirling clouds, thousands of blots hammering into chains and cages, leaving the spirits untouched, and free.

"So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up"

"So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up"

The heroes and even the living's voices joined forces and called out in perfect time,

"Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.  
In the dark, dark  
Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.  
In the dark, dark"

Henry watched as the siren appeared in the middle of the crater, short swords in hands and seeming to direct the lightening. The freed spirits had joined the fight now against the demons and there were not many left as Henry sang on, as hard as he could.

"All the writers keep writing what they write  
Somewhere another pretty vein just dies  
I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see  
That you're the antidote to everything except for me, me

A constellation of tears on your lashes  
Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes  
In the end everything collides  
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see"

Lorelei stood on top of a large mound of rubble as she sang out the lines next; spirits, heroes, Henry and the living sang out with her, causing the entire crater to tremble with the force of their voices as lightening freed the rest of the spirits and struck down the demons a thousand at a time.

"My songs know what you did in the dark

So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up

So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up

Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.  
In the dark, dark  
Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa.  
In the dark, dark"

Henry began with the next line, pouring all his energy into the words, and when the siren picked up the second line, the clouds themselves seem to shatter from the force of thousands of bolts of lightening, killing the last of the demons on the battle field as the song drew to a close.

"My songs know what you did in the dark  
(My songs know what you did in the dark)

So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up

So light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up  
Light 'em up, up, up"

The heroes on the field ended the song with their voices and Lorelei sent them back to paradise cheering and celebrating.

"Oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, whoa."

Breathing heavily, Henry sat down and took a few moments to catch his breath. The siren appeared on the slab of rock with him and he jumped to his feet, eager to do more. She ran to Cora whispered in her ear and kissed her hard, as if trying to pack every shred of feelings she had in to the kiss to make Cora feel what she felt. Cora staggered when the kiss ended, a little surprised at the emotions in it. But she nodded at what Lorelei had told her and waved her arm towards David, Snow, Emma and Regina. They vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving Henry alone with the siren.

"Where did they go?!" Henry asked frantically.

"Somewhere safe from me… I hope. Henry, this is where things get bad…" The siren grimaced as she opened her hand to reveal the vial Demeter had given her. She stared at it a moment more and seemed to be deciding on whether or not to use it.

There was a deafening roar from the other side of the crater, on the edge above the rioting spirits. Henry didn't need to be closer to know it was Hades, and he was mad. Lorelei set her jaw and uncorked the vial, downing the tiny amount of magic inside the vial. Henry was knocked to the ground by an eruption of magic that forced his eyes closed. And when he opened them, he blinked several times just to make sure he was really seeing what he saw. Lorelei stood there, her runes brightly shining silver. But a massive pair of wings had appeared on her back. Her muscular body had taken on a sharper shape, leaner, harder. Her wings spread out to either side of her as she cast magic towards Hades. Henry expected fire, or lightening, but instead, hundreds of golden winged sirens descended on Hades, temporarily keeping him busy, but not for long, he was already cutting through them.

As Henry stared at Lorelei's silver feathered wings she pushed him back by the mountain wall, "Stay down. I can't hurt you and he won't try to, but shit happens you know." She glanced towards Hades, slicing through hundreds of screaming sirens. " Henry, Demeter's gift isn't just power and wings. Her magic is based on growing. With this power, I can absorb the spirits down there and grow my power through their destruction." She looked absolutely pained at the words she spoke. But Henry understood.

"The thing you love most is the dead. You give them paradise and make them happy until they can be redeemed. But these spirits won't ever be redeemed. They will never be happy, only tortured. They are the ones you love the most, because you know you can't help them at all, and you want to. You know they have no hope, nothing to ever look forward to or to strive for because they will always be here, always be tortured."

Lorelei nodded as a single silver tear leaked down her cheek. "I am going to destroy them, completely. It is the worst thing I can ever imagine doing. And they are the only ones who would give themselves to oblivion because they know they have no hope of redemption. Every one of them is willing to be destroyed. The reason doesn't even matter to them…" She trailed off as Hades howled angrily on the other side. "Henry, believe in me now. Bring me back."

"I will."

Lorelei smiled the most pain filed expression Henry had ever seen, "I don't think you can, but I hope you can…". And then she vanished, reappearing in the middle of the crater. The tortured mass of spirits swarming to her instantly. Hades was nearly done with the golden sirens now. He was cutting through the last of them as the spirits below became streaks of black and crashed into the sirens outstretched hands.

Hades roared and appeared behind the siren, knocking her to the ground, she drew her swords and they began to fight what they both knew would be the last battle as the spirits continued to pour into Lorelei in a blur. The spirits in the back fought to get to her, eager to be destroyed…

Hades felt her strength beginning to rise. He attacked her as hard and fast as he could, aiming to kill her as quick as he could. He was slicing her, but she was already quick… He felt fear then. She was already so strong. The tears on her face told him something he hadn't known… her sacrifice was hurting her far more than taking a life had hurt him. She felt more than he did. Oh yes, he felt fear. He should have come sooner, but the blood took so long to set on his sword. He should have attacked sooner, but those damned sirens distracted him. He should have moved faster…

She felt every single soul crash into her. Every one was like a jagged cut across her heart and mind. Thousands had collided with her. Hades cut her deeply, but not deep enough, she had expected him to be stronger… Hades was stronger now than her, but she gained a little speed and strength with each agonizing spirit she consumed and destroyed. She didn't know when the tears stopped. As she began to block Hades attacks instead of being sliced by them, she became less aware of the souls she absorbed…

Her wounds began to heal quicker, she began deflecting the attacks and then dodging them. She wanted the spirits to get to her quicker. She wanted more power. She heard something inside her, deep inside her call out that she had enough now, but she ignored that. There was no such thing as enough power. She wanted more. She spread her wings far to either side of her, giving the spirits more of her to touch. More of them could get to her quicker now. She smiled even as Hades frowned, she was stronger than him now… and he knew it. Still, no sense in leaving any spirits here, they all wanted to be destroyed. She laughed as they rushed to her, filling her with the power she didn't need…

All Henry could do was stare, the two warriors moved so fast he couldn't keep up with every movement. But every few seconds, the siren stopped long enough for him to see her clearly. At first, her silver seemed tarnished, dull. But as more and more souls disappeared into her, the silver gave way to grey. The grey darkened more every time he caught sight of her. When she stopped and spread her wings wide… The silver was gone. Her wings shined, but they shined with a black that looked wet. Her skin was covered in black marks now, where her silver runes had been, only a shining black remained. He frantically clawed at his shirt, tearing the collar, to see his chest. The rune on his chest was still there. It still shone brightly silver. He pushed himself back to the mountain wall and held a hand over the cool silver rune. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine pushing hope and his belief into it…

 **The song used in this chapter is "My songs know what you did in the dark", by Fall Out Boy. I do not own the song, lyrics, band or music.** **Henry**


	15. Chapter 15

**I apologize for the lack of recent update. That life thing… it just keeps happening! Thank you for the continued support from reviews!**

Chapter 15

As the last of the spirits here in the inner circle were absorbed into her, Lorelei flexed her now pitch black wings and almost casually swatted Hades to the ground with a single hand. As she did, she looked at her new skin. She found it beautiful, of course, how could she be anything but beautiful? The way the pale skin peered through the space between solid black runes was nothing less than perfect. She smiled as she saw that the runes were such a deep black, it almost seemed that pieces were simply missing from her flesh, the runes being holes etched through time into a black oblivion. She was very satisfied with her new appearance. She was stunning.

With a frown she gazed down at Hades. His body was torn and twisted. At some point she must have began attacking him instead of dodging and blocking. She didn't remember when and she didn't really care. This man was standing in her way, an ugly shell of a man who actually thought he could destroy her. "Hades… are you done playing at power? You are not very good at it…"

The man lay broken and bloodied on the ground, his power was completely drained, at this point he was fairly certain the magical mortal he had killed could destroy him… "Kill me then Lorelei, destroy me."

The black wings shook as the siren laughed, she folded them up prettily upon her back and stroked the end of one lovingly (they were like silk in her hands), "kill you? Destroy you? Why would I ever want to do that? If I wait a while, you will regenerate your power and I can knock you to the ground again. It will be like a great game that I will always win!" She clapped her hands together and spun around gracefully.

As his broken ribs struggled to heave air in and out of his charred lungs, he closed his eyes and tried once more, painfully begging for mercy, "Lorelei, please. Destroy me. Do not leave me like this."

The siren simply waved him to be quiet. She had begun absently rubbing her chest and upon looking at it closer, she realized there was a large patch of pale skin showing where the irritation was coming from. She was missing something… But she couldn't quite remember what was supposed to go there. She sent her senses outward, trying to feel for whatever it was she was missing… She traced an odd feeling up to the mountains above the inner circle. Her missing piece must be up there somewhere. Maybe it fell off during the fighting? Completely dismissing the broken creature begging for destruction, she spread her wings and soared up to a rock jutting from the mountain.

Henry closed his eyes as a wind beat at his face. When he opened his eyes, he shrieked in horror. The woman standing before him was familiar to him as Lorelei, but she was so very different. Her body had been athletic, but lean. Now, she looked more angular, a bit too thin but with defined muscles. There was not any trace of the silver light she always radiated, instead her wings seemed to be an endless span of nothingness, every black rune like a hole in space. The skin that was visible on her face and between runes was far too pale. Nearly white skin stretched across her face, punctuated by entirely black holes where her eyes had been. She folded her wings neatly before approaching him with a look on her face intense enough to make Henry force himself back up against the mountain rock.

Lorelei studied the boy in front of her, he seemed familiar. Her eyes landed upon his chest where a vividly silver violin shone out brightly. She arched a brow and held out her hand to him. "That is mine." She pointed to the silver violin, "give it back to me boy."

Henry swallowed hard twice before he managed to speak to her, "no. You gave it to me to hold onto. I can't give it to you."

Unphased, she spoke again, arm still outstretched to receive the piece. "It does not belong to you boy, if I gave it to you, I would have told you to give it back when I wanted it. Hand it to me and I will not be forced to kill you. A life is a terrible thing to waste, don't you think?" When Henry put his hand over the charm and shook his head no, she was done asking. With blinding speed she wrapped her hand around his neck…

Henry gasped as he realized she had her hand around his neck, expecting to be killed or at least thoroughly choked. But it didn't happen. He could tell she was squeezing, but her skin never touched his, it was as if an invisible barrier were between his skin and hers. She couldn't squeeze. She couldn't actually touch him.

Confused, the siren attempted to punch him, but her fist struck an invisible barrier and rebounded off, making him flinch, but not contacting him. She growled and retracted herself from him a few steps. She frowned in thought for a few moments before she smiled darkly and told him, "I can't hurt you, because you have my missing piece. How nice for you? But I suppose if you happen to die, then I could probably pull it off your cold skin." She chuckled as she burst into the air, knocking Henry down on the rock.

Lorelei flew to hover just in the middle of the crater and called her magic up through the ground. In moments, the mountains and ground began to quake violently. She would bring the mountains crashing down and dig his corpse out to retrieve her piece. The mountains began trembling and she saw the boy struggling to hang on, laughing she sent another shock through the ground and waited for him to fall to his death. With a gasp she spun around to stare off into the distance, her senses were still elevated and she had felt more living beings in the underworld. Three women, and a man. She could sense them, and she could sense their magic. Frowning at the boy again, she decided she would return for his corpse later. She wanted to get a better look at these magical mortals. She streaked through the air towards her quarry.

Rumple cautiously poofed into the inner circle, prepared to vanish immediately if the siren were still around. The ground was quaking violently and he had to use his magic just to stay upright. Lorelei was gone, he could feel her magic presence moving towards the beach at an alarming rate. He smiled as he appeared just beside the crushed looking body of Hades. He was still breathing, but so deliciously weakened that Rumple couldn't help an excited squeal as he knelt beside him. "Hades, how lovely it is to see you again…"

Hades opened his eyes and saw the imp leaning over him, he smiled then because he knew this fool had no motive other than to destroy him. He wouldn't be a play thing for the siren… But this fool man would be. Hades laughed a sputtering, garbled laugh as the dark one took a wicked looking dagger from his jacket pocket. He laughed until the man plunged the blade into his charred heart. He felt every fiber of his being undone to be pulled into this dagger. He laughed until he was completely consumed by the wicked blade.

Rumple absorbed every scrap Hades had to offer, he felt the immeasurable power flow from the dagger in to himself. He wanted to flex his power to test it's strength, but something caught his eye, high on the mountain but falling fast…

Henry tried to hang on, and he may have survived, but the rock slab he stood on snapped and he slid off the end. He watched the ground rushing up to kill him, the air whipping past his head, taking his breath away. Something grabbed his arm and jerked him violently and he landed on dry grass, hard, but nothing too drastic. Before he could begin to focus on what just happened, Mr. Gold was holding his face roughly in his hands. "Henry! Henry, are you alright? What the hell were you doing up there? What happened?"

Henry managed to free himself from Mr. Golds hands and tried to clear his head. "I… I have Lorelei's charm… She wants it back but I told her no. She can't hurt me… well not directly. So she caused the quakes to kill me so she could take it back." He looked around wildly then, seeing only endless plains around him. "Where is she? Where did Lorelei go?"

Rumple grimaced at the boy, he nearly died, would have if he hadn't happened to see him falling. And now, all he wanted was to find the siren that tried to kill him. "Henry, you need to leave, now. If she wants you dead you will be unless you leave the underworld. Let me take you to the river…" Rumple moved to grab him but Henry pulled away.

"No! Please, I need to find her! I am the only hope she has!"

"Henry…"

"No, Mr. Gold. I am not a coward. I will find her and I will save her." He set his jaw stubbornly and tried to make the man understand. "If I don't save her, she will stay dark and destroy everything. My family will be next, I know it. And how long before she kills you too?"

Rumple sighed and swore against the charming genes in the boy. Neal wasn't a coward either… "If I take you to her, I will run Henry. I can't fight her. No one can."

"I can." Henry stood up straight and held his hand out to Rumple. "Take me grandpa."

Rumple sighed and grabbed the boys hand, taking them to the beach and immediately vanishing back to where Hades used to dwell, he had given Hades a very valuable thing and he needed to find it.

When Lorelei reached the beach, she had intended to seek the living here, but a shining golden curtain caught her attention instead. Something about it pulled on her to touch it. She ran a hand along the gold, but hard as she pushed, she couldn't get past it. This immediately angered her, after all, everything in the underworld belonged to her. She called upon her magic to use her music to scour the surface of the curtain, searching for a crack, a weakness…

Regina and Emma were pacing furiously in front of a large raised pool of golden water in the cave Cora had brought them to. They tried as hard as they could to transport back to Henry, but the caves prevented it. They had wandered out to the beach and tried again, but only realized it still wouldn't work. Cora told them repeatedly that before they left Lorelei put a block on this area against any magic but hers, knowing they would try to leave. She also assured them that the siren couldn't hurt Henry even if she wanted to. And now Cora just closed her eyes and massaged her temples as her head ache raged from the incessant pacing of the two women. She had managed to get them back into the cave with the pool after explaining that if Lorelei started raining lightening, the cave would protect them from it.

Regina stopped and Emma ran into her, confused until she saw what had caught Regina's attention. A golden body was emerging from the pool of golden water. As the golden siren stepped out of the pool she giggled in the sound of a happy harp and winked at Cora before vanishing in a flash of gold. Regina gasped and shouted at Cora, "that was one of Lorelei's sirens! She vanished so why the hell can't we?!"

Cora grimaced as her voice bounced and echoed in the cave. "Regina, they are Lorelei, remember? It's the same magic. This is the birthing pool she told you about. And that siren was the one I have named Barbara. She is out on the ocean where the realms meet, deterring travelers. She has a thing for mermaids, mermaids however, enjoy a good murder about as often as sex."

Emma groaned in frustration, "This is stupid. Nothing is happening outside. I'm going out." With that she made her way to the cave mouth, Regina close behind after glaring at her mother.

When they reached the cave mouth however, they heard the unmistakable sound of a perfect violin. Stepping out and on to the sand, they saw a woman with black wings, covered in black runes, scouring the golden curtain to paradise. Emma began to speak but Regina put a hand over her mouth, forcing her to turn around back towards the cave. As Emma turned, both women ran to Henry who stood motioning them to be quiet and come to him. They collided with him and after plenty of hugs and once overs to check for damage, he explained everything that had happened to him since they left.

"Where's Snow and David?" He asked them.

The two women glanced at each other before Emma told him with a slight frown, "When we got here, they went through the curtain into paradise. Apparently from the inside you can see out so they figured they could gather heroes and wait to see if they are needed. This way they will be grouped just on the other side, ready to burst out."

Henry shook his head, "No, they can't do anything except get destroyed by her. I'm the only one protected from her. I have to help her. I have an idea, but you're not going to like it…"

"Henry, you will not confront her alone…" Regina warned him.

"Mom, she can't hurt me. She tried, she failed."

"She tried, she failed, she found a loophole, you got lucky as shit." Emma shot back at him.

Henry rolled his eyes, "I know, but I think I know what to do now. I can't tell you though because you will try to stop me."

Regina raised a brow, "well since we would try to stop you if we knew, how about we stop you whether we know or not?"

Frustrated, Henry pleaded again, "No, please. Listen to me, you have to trust me. I will be okay. But if I don't stop her, she will kill me and you both and everyone she comes across. And considering she is focusing on the gate to paradise, she will probably destroy them too."

The two women looked at one another, silently conveying feelings and thoughts through to one another. Sighing, Regina finally nodded and hugged him tightly before giving him to Emma to embrace. "Fine, but if we think something is going wrong…"

Henry nodded and took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he knew he had to do. He walked out of the cave, his mother's peering out from the cave mouth to watch him. He headed straight for the siren who was still focused on the golden wall, the violin sounding out in perfect harmony as she ran her hands over the wall. He had a feeling, deep in his chest. He didn't know what it was, but it felt like it was growing inside of him, like a storm brewing. He pushed the thoughts away and walked right up to the siren, stopping just out of arms reach of her.

Lorelei could sense the living, and a spirit off to the side somewhere. They didn't really interest her, not as much as this gateway. She knew there was something behind it, and she wanted it. Two of the living, a woman and the man, had vanished into it before she had gotten here. She couldn't sense them at all now. But they had to have gone in there. And she wanted in. She continued stroking the curtain with her magical song as the boy with her piece approached her. When he stopped, she let the music fade and looked sideways at him, one hand still on the wall. "You survived… That wouldn't happen to be thanks to the new lord of the underworld now would it?"

Henry's eyes widened slightly at the meaning of her words, "Mr. Gold? But, you didn't kill Hades, you flew away."

Lorelei smirked at the boy, he was so innocent… "Mr. Gold… Horrible name. So, plain. I think Rumplestiltskin is much better." She leaned her forehead against the curtain, inhaling deeply. "He stole Hades power when he destroyed him with that dagger he always keeps tucked away on himself. Now, although his power is incredibly pathetic compared to mine, I suppose he can have the title Hades had put on himself." She chuckled darkly then. "Are you giving me back my piece now? Or do I need to convince you some more?"

Henry pushed his thoughts away from Rumple (and this gnawing ball growing in his chest) and shook his head no, "I won't hand it over."

Lorelei sighed deeply, in mock sadness before telling him, "fine, then I will break down this wall and destroy absolutely everything on the other side. I don't know what it is in there, but I will destroy it completely." She snapped her fingers and the hairline crack she had found began to widen, the golden curtain being pushed back, a fraction at a time. Brilliant sunlight began to leak out as the crack widened to just a tenth of an inch.

Henry knew it was now or never… He pulled all his strength from his heart and put his plan into action.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As Henry collected his nerves to attack, he heard voices coming from the other side of the golden wall spilling through the now inch wide crack, "Hold it together! Push harder, we cannot let her break it open!"

He didn't recognize the voice, but Lorelei pulled her hands back as the curtain seemed to surge towards the breakage. It seemed to be pulling the crack closed slowly, but the siren growled and shoved her hand into the crack and a blackness began spreading out from her fingers. There was a frantic yell on the other side from what he knew was Snow's voice this time, "No!" The runes of the siren flashed momentarily, a thin filmy light wrapping around her once before vanishing into her skin. She smiled as she pushed at the crack harder. Snow was heard again, "Don't touch her! It's too late for him, he's been absorbed into her. If you touch her you'll be gone too, adding to her power."

Henry gasped at the realization that she had absorbed a person from paradise, he hadn't been sure she could, or would. The reality that he was the only thing who could save every spirit in the underworld weighed down on him as he stared at the sirens winged back. How was he supposed to stop her? The crack was slowly widening as the blackness pushed against the gold. Shouts and cries were heard on the other side, and Henry backed up just a step. He was suddenly unsure of himself. He believed Lorelei could be brought back, he just wasn't so sure he could make that happen anymore. Before he could take another step back, there was a violent flash of gold as the four sirens that had been left behind appeared. At once, they jumped onto Lorelei, effectively pulling her off the curtain in shock. The gap snapped shut immediately at the loss of focus from Lorelei. The black wings shot out, casting one golden siren to the ground as she spun around to lash out at them. They weren't really a match for her now, even together. They had been created in her past image, before her massive power grab. But all four together were proving to be an admirable nuisance.

Lorelei killed two of them quickly, the sirens bursting into golden dust. As the other two beat at her, the first two she had killed appeared again to lash out once more. Lorelei yelled in anger at her own creations and a burst of magic turned three of them to golden dust. The last golden siren bit down on her wing before Lorelei broke it's back by slamming it to the ground with the wing still in it's mouth. Three golden flashes and they were back, looking a bit more ragged than before. They stood back a few feet and waited, staring down Lorelei. The fourth siren appeared again and they lunged at her as one. Smiling, Lorelei suddenly held a black bladed sword in her hand and in one stroke severed all four of the sirens heads from their bodies. One burst of golden dust and they were gone. Henry knew this time it would take a while for them to come back. The dark siren sneered at him with her back to the golden wall, as if daring him to act.

Henry swallowed hard and stood up straight. He wasn't going to back away this time, he moved slowly until he stood directly in front of her, just out of arms reach. He reached to his chest and took the charm into the palm of his hand. The siren's eyes became impossibly blacker as she stared at his hand, intensely focused on her missing piece. Before Henry had a chance to try what he didn't think he could actually do, a spirit stepped between him and the siren, blocking the sirens eyes from her treasure.

"Lorelei, please, listen to me." Cora held her hands up to attempt to calm the siren.

"No! She doesn't know you! She can kill you, you have to move!" Henry shouted at her. If he could touch her he would have pushed her out of the way, but he passed right through her.

Cora smiled sadly and just said, "I know Henry, but I have to try." She looked into the siren's black eyes and pleaded again, "Please Lorelei. This isn't you. Let us help you." The siren squinted at Cora, as if trying to look through her. Then she smiled and held her hand out to Cora.

"No! Don't…" Henry screamed… But Cora either didn't hear him, or didn't care. And as she touched the outstretched hand, she became a blur that wrapped around the siren and then sunk in to her skin. The runes flashing a deeper black as Lorelei smiled, flexing the fingers Cora had touched.

With an angry cry that was loud enough to make Lorelei's eyes widen, Henry lunged at her with his right hand extended to her chest. She made to jump back, but her back was against the golden curtain and his fist opened at the last second to press the silver charm against the bare piece of skin on her chest.

She grabbed at him and burst magic at him, but the charm was still touching his hand and she couldn't harm him, so instead she created a thin black barrier between the silver charm and her flesh.

The charm in Henry's hand immediately reacted and shone with a brilliant silver light and burned into Henry's palm. He ground his teeth together trying not to scream in pain and as the siren made to take off, wings spreading wide, he buried his left hand in her hair, taking a very firm grip as he pushed as hard as he could against the barrier between the charm in his palm and her flesh.

The siren lunged into the air so fast, Henry almost blacked out from the force, but that growing pressure in his chest surged through him and he stayed awake, his grip in her hair the only reason he was still with her. He had a sudden realization and as tears burned from his eyes from the wind whipping around him, he pulled at the pressure keeping him awake, he fed his emotions into it. All the hope, joys, love and anger, he poured all of them into this power within himself. He stoked the fire in his chest until it felt hotter than the scorching heat in his palm. All at once, he pushed the force from his chest down his extended arm and into his palm.

There was a blinding white light that erupted from his palm, devouring the silver light and destroying the black barrier between his palm and the siren. The white burst was so intense it blew him backwards, forcing his grip out of the sirens hair and throwing him several feet from her. As he stopped midair, his upward motion stopping, before the downward pull of gravity caught up, he saw the siren hovering there before him, staring wide eyed at the violently silver light on her chest spreading rapidly across her body. He began falling, his vision was fading to black as utter exhaustion set inside him. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes for the impact back to the ground, was black wings being engulfed in a silver light…

….

Knowing the siren couldn't directly hurt Henry, Emma and Regina stared out at them from the mouth of the cave. They watched them talking, and watched as the siren created a gap in the golden curtain. Henry was backing up, which worried the two women because if something made Henry back down… Well, what hope could they have left? All at once, the golden sirens appeared on Lorelei. As they fought the pond in the cave exploded every time a siren was killed and burst out of it to fight again. When the siren beheaded them all, they didn't burst out again. Cora couldn't seem to wait any longer and after a very quickly whispered "I love you Regina" she rushed to stand between Henry and Lorelei.

Regina was shocked at the scream that tore out of her own throat when her mother vanished into the siren. She might have collapsed, but before she could even register fully what had happened, Henry screamed and both women immediately ran full speed towards Henry and Lorelei. Just before they got close enough to touch him, the siren burst into the air with Henry attached, both women landed roughly on the ground from the massive burst of air that came from her taking off. They stared skyward until all they could see was a tiny speck in the sky.

Snow and David ran out of the golden curtain, both looking exhausted from whatever they had been through. All four of the living stared upward, barely breathing. Then a massive amount of white light spread through the sky from the tiny speck that was Henry and Lorelei. Regina gasped and covered her mouth as she stared up, tears began leaking from her eyes. Emma put an arm around her and asked her, "what is it Regina? What was that?"

Regina shook her head, unable to speak for a few moments. She opened her mouth to tell Emma what exactly the light had been, but then a silver light and a roar resounded from above. All four people cried out in fear and shock as they saw one black speck rapidly growing larger as Henry plummeted towards the ground. He was in a complete free fall. A feeling of utter helplessness was spread through all four as they watched him fall. Emma began running around, staring upwards. Maybe, she thought, if he landed on her, it could break his fall enough for him to survive. It was an incredibly slim chance, she knew. And it would probably kill them both, but she was far more willing to take that chance with the chance he could survive.

Regina saw Emma run off, but she couldn't do anything except watch her son fall through the air. She couldn't think of anything except his smiling face. She stared, tears flowing freely down her face. She tried harder than she has ever tried before to summon her magic, but in was useless, the magic block was still there. She could break his fall, she could catch him… If she had her magic. She could feel Snow and David standing close by. She didn't see them, but was aware they were talking frantically, trying to figure out something, anything. It was all useless. Her son was going to hit the ground and he would be gone forever.

…..

The boy had a hold of her hair, but she barely noticed him at all as she shot into the air, the burning against her chest reaching an unbearable intensity. It took all her strength to maintain the barrier between her skin and the charm. If he would've handed it to her, she could have twisted it before putting it on herself. Coming from him though, still touching him, it was a blazing star of fire and pain that threatened to tear her apart if it touched her. So she climbed into the air, trying to detach the boy without actually touching him. And then… there was a white light… and the world stopped. She stopped climbing through the sky and stared at the white light. It was hypnotizing her, and burning her eyes at the same time. She couldn't look away. She stared in to the light as it exploded, she didn't even flinch. It was so beautiful. Vaguely, she felt the hand in her hair being torn from her. Somewhere she heard the boy cry out, but as she stared, all she could see was a silver light, full of warmth and love and happiness, flow over her flesh. She watched as the black runes on her skin were filled with a bright silver light. Every rune had a black outline and was filled with silver light. As her wings spread out to either side, every silky feather was bathed in silver, only the tips remaining black. The light faded and she blinked her eyes several times, regaining herself and her own mind. She was overwhelmed by what she had done. She cast her eyes around looking for the boy who brought her back, but she was in the sky and he was gone.

Searching frantically now, she looked down, the boy was falling extremely quickly towards the ground. In fact, she realized, he was very nearly there.

Regina began screaming as Henry fell towards the ground, only a few more seconds now… She saw Emma standing just where he would land and she screamed even more, until she thought she would die from lack of oxygen. And then… a silvery flash. Emma stood there, blinking away the light from her eyes.

Regina ran to her, staring upwards still. As everyone met with Emma, they all were staring up. The siren was very slowly nearing the ground, her wings spread wide to gently bring her to the ground, cradling Henry in her arms. Silver tears stained her cheeks as she stared at him. She landed softly on the beach, just in front of them and slowly laid Henry on the sand. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. As the living surged to him, the siren vanished and appeared several feet away, wings folded behind her, staring at the people with an ever growing amount of shame.

"Henry! Henry, please wake up. Please!" Regina cupped his face in her hands and pleaded with him. She had a sudden thought and screamed at the siren, "Remove the magic block! Please let me help him!"

Lorelei's brows rose in shock but she waved her hand and a ripple quickly spread through the beach.

Regina immediately began pouring tiny amounts of her magic into him. Coaxing him back to consciousness. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his eyes fluttered open. "Mom?"

Regina and Emma were both gasping with happy sobs as they held him between themselves. Snow and David were beaming down over them and were holding each other tightly.

Henry endured the incredibly tight hugs for a bit then asked them, "Please, where is she? The siren. Is she okay?" Both women looked at him in surprise. The siren nearly got him killed, several times now, and this was his first thought? Still, they pulled themselves back just enough to let him see past them to the siren standing a little ways down the beach. He sighed in relief, seeing the silver shine on her skin. After several minutes of arguing and sighing on his part, Henry managed to stand up, fending off his mother's attempts to keep him laying down. "I'm fine, I promise. I have to talk to her. I'll be right back." Eventually they let him go, but stood staring the entire time as he approached the siren.

Lorelei shifted her feet a bit nervously, not really knowing what was going to happen now. As the boy approached, she stared at the sand, already accepting the verbal abuse he was likely to dish out to her.

Henry stopped just short of being within arms reach and waited until she looked up to meet his eyes. He smiled when he saw her eyes were no longer the unfathomably deep black pits, but had instead become silver, with a black pupil. He could tell the darkness was still there, but he could also see far more good than bad. Kind of like a bright red magic heart with a few black wisps in it. Once he had settled that she was mostly good, he lunged at her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Her eyes went impossibly wide, not usually getting big tight hugs from children, but after a few stiff moments she relaxed and even wrapped one arm around him to pat his back a little. He didn't stop however and eventually she cleared her throat and pushed him back gently with a hand on his forehead. "I'm not a big hugger boy."

Henry beamed up at her, "You're not very good at it, but we will work on it."

Raising a curious brow at him she asked, "What makes you think I want to work on it?"

Henry held up his right palm, the siren gasped as she looked at it. In the middle of his pale hand was a very intricate black violin tattooed on his skin. "I can feel you, sort of. I don't know exactly. Whatever I can feel or sense, I could tell you wanted to hug, but didn't really know how so you stopped it." He shrugged, putting his hand down. "You want to hug, you just kind of never learned how."

Glancing at the group of living she said in a low voice, "I've done some unforgivable things boy. I don't believe you should be anywhere near me actually." A single silver tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke, remembering Cora reaching out to her. She was gone now. She hadn't been sure, but she thought she might have loved that woman in a more sort of way than the other women she had been with. Of course, now she wouldn't see her again. She was gone, destroyed beyond redemption by the woman she tried to save. She didn't deserve a hug, not from anyone.

Henry smiled sadly, feeling how saddened she was, he didn't know, but he thought she might be thinking of Cora. "Hey…" He took her strong silver and black runed hand in his, "Some times people do things they regret. Sometimes we do things we can never really forgive ourselves for. That's what I'm here for. I can believe better than you. And I believe you saved us all, except yourself. So, now I will save you back."

She looked at him incredulously, "but I tried to kill you, I would've killed the other living, and all the dead probably."

He shrugged, "Yeah but only because you sacrificed yourself for us. Anything can be forgiven if you really work for it. My mom, Regina, she killed people too. I'm sure you have met plenty of her victims. But she worked really hard, and I believed in her, and now she is pretty much a good guy. Actually, she is borderline hero material. But don't tell her that! She thinks heroes are gross." He laughed and even the siren huffed a few laughs.

They turned towards the living who were approaching them now. Regina wore a scowl and a glare for the siren, arms crossed. Emma looked pretty much the same, but had a bit of a war on her face between anger and curiosity. Snow and David just looked hesitant and a bit confused.

Emma spoke first, "Henry, let us see your hand, the one you showed Lorelei." He held his hand up, the black violin pulling a shocked gasp from everyone.

Regina was livid. "You branded my son?!"

Lorelei held up her hands in surrender, "No, no. Not on purpose!"

"It wasn't her, it was my magic! It fused with the magic in her charm and sort of etched her charm into me." He waited for the clamor to settle. Everyone was asking what magic. Except Regina who seemed to calm as everyone else went a little crazy. She smiled at Henry. He smiled back at her, of course, she probably knew what it was when it happened.

"The white light you all saw," Regina spoke loudly, bringing everyone else to be silent. "That was his magic coming out. That's why he passed out, he used magic for the first time, and quite a lot of it too." She touched his cheek proudly.

"It was white? White magic, like mine?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Yes dear, apparently you rubbed off in a good way this time instead of the usual idiotic ways you infect him with." Regina replied, but she said it affectionately enough that Emma smiled lovingly at her.

"I can't wait to learn how to use it!" Henry was practically bouncing in anticipation.

"Well first we have to get home. I think our time in the underworld has come to an end. Finally." Snow told him.

Lorelei nodded, "yes, you had all better go I think."

Henry squeezed the hand he still held, "we had all better go." Lorelei looked at her hand in his, she seemed to debate something too complicated for Henry to figure out through their connection. "We made a deal with you remember? You find Hook, you come home with us. Well you found him, then got rid of him and now you have to come home with us. Don't worry, there's a guest room in our house."

Regina started at that, "what makes you think I am letting her stay in my house?" She crossed her arms again in indignation.

Henry just shrugged, "well Emma made the deal really, so she is responsible for Lorelei going with us, and since you guys are together now, Emma will move to the mansion which means Lorelei will have to stay there too." He told them matter-of-factly.

Emma had gone wide eyed looking between him and Regina as she tried to process everything he just said. "Woah kid, who said I'm moving in? And who said the siren has to stay with me?"

Regina raised a brow at Emma then, "You are moving in Emma, we have been dating for more than enough time for it to be appropriate for you to live with me."

Emma looked like pure confusion, "Enough time? Like, it's been a day, maybe two, I'm not sure but how is that plenty of time?"

Regina waved a hand at her and rolled her eyes, "please, we have been dating since you brought Henry home from Boston. We just hadn't admitted such a thing, and that has been several years. You're moving in."

Emma blushed as a smile spread across her face, "yes your majesty."

Henry giggled at that but Regina just nodded and said, "that's better dear. Remember that you are a princess addressing a queen."

Lorelei smiled, at least that happened right she thought. "Okay. Let's get us all back to the living realm." She raised her hand to take them to the river when she had a thought. "Actually, why don't you all chill here for just a bit longer, I need to speak to the new lord of the underworld, formerly known as 'Rumplefuckshitupstiltskin' real quick." Before anyone could speak, she vanished.


	17. Chapter 17

**A short chapter, the second update today though, so I hope it's alright to be so short. I haven't quite decided whether I will end the story here, and start a sequel, or just continue here. I appreciate any input you have on the idea! All errors are mine, OUAT is not.**

Chapter 17

Lorelei magicked herself to the entryway of Hades castle. Well, she thought, not Hades anymore. She pondered her feelings about him being destroyed for a few moments. She didn't kill him when she had the chance. She couldn't completely understand if she had made that decision out of an even darker fate for him or because she didn't want him dead. It was hard for her to think about her darkest hours. At the time, she knew she had made sense of her actions. Completely uncaring for anything around her seemed to be the basic theme. She knew everyone still, but her personal feelings for them were rather non existent. Now, of course, she felt an unbelievable amount of guilt for all the souls she had eradicated. Still, she hadn't really thought to destroy Hades completely. No, she would have wanted to beat him down to a point where he stayed where he belonged instead of messing with the good spirits. Now however, she need not be concerned with the past, as it were. She couldn't undo anything she had done, but she could make a decent future though.

She wandered through the halls of the castle rather aimlessly, she hadn't really toured the place before. It was dark, sort of smelly and rather dull overall. She continued wandering, absently whistling a tune out loud. A voice quietly sang the words to her tune as the man followed behind her.

"One way, or another, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha.."

Lorelei stopped whistling and turned to him, smiling. "Rumple, there you are."

Rumplestiltskin bowed, never dropping his smile. "Lorelei, I had hoped you would come to talk to me."

Lorelei laughed loudly, "No, you hoped I would leave the underworld and forget all about you."

He shrugged, "you're right of course. But since you did come find me, what assistance can I provide you?"

She raised a brow at him, "well, I could kill you, you do understand that yes?" After he nodded she continued, "Alright, well this should be an easy choice for you then. You will be bound to Tartarus. You will not leave this area for any reason, unless I ask you to. You will punish the wicked souls, you will leave the demons to collect them for you, much like Hades did. Agree to everything so far?" He nodded easily. "And you will answer a few questions for me. Lie once and I will kill you. One of my sirens can do a better job than you here so do not tempt luck my slimy friend."

Rumple considered just a moment, but he nodded, "of course. Please, ask away."

Smiling, she began pacing lazily, "firstly, why did you leave the underworld with my charm so long ago?"

"I thought to use your magic. Getting people to do as I wish is a very alluring ability."

She nodded, that's what she thought, "well it doesn't work without me around, but you must have realized such." He nodded so she continued. "Why did you bother coming back, with my charm, and then just handing it back?"

"Well nothing happened when I held it, even here, so I gave it to the first woman who would be interested. And then, you came running." He smirked and giggled.

Laughing she said, "well, your touch I ignored, a beautiful blonde however… well" She shrugged, a sly grin in place before clearing her throat and asking more, "why did you come back to the underworld?"

He licked his lips, he knew this was coming, but had still hoped it wouldn't, "I needed Hades to hide something for me. Which he did, but I hadn't accounted for the progression of events." She motioned, a little impatient for him to spill it, but he held his hands up in defense, "I know, you want to know what he hid for me. I have no idea." She stopped and turned towards him, a dangerous look in her eye but he continued quickly, "I erased my own memories! I knew there was a chance you would come asking these questions so I eliminated the only chance you could find out. I know I gave him something, and I know I wanted it here in the underworld because time would have no effect on it, but I don't know what it was. I have been searching since I took his power, but I haven't found anything that belonged to me."

She squinted at him, but he wasn't lying. "Fine, I'll buy it. Now, what do you know o the sacrifices made by Regina and Snow White on the grounds?"

He cocked a brow in amusement, "He took Regina's life, we covered this already. I gave him permission and so did Snow and Regina herself."

Studying his face, she came to the realization, he really didn't know about the "space" nonsense. Oh well, she would figure it out eventually. "Ah, yes. Well, going all evil and darkness can play tricks on anyone." She thought for a few moments and then, "you have no problem staying here? I thought you had a wife back in the living realm?"

Rumple shrugged, "Belle will be alright. She will live a happy life without me there to disappoint her some more. And eventually, she will end up here, with me." He glanced at the siren and bowed slightly, "with your permission, of course. She will be a shoe in for paradise, but if she would like, she could stay with me here?" Lorelei nodded. "And when she comes to me here, I will have great power, and an entire realm, Tartarus. I can make her happy then, with my power and wealth."

Lorelei frowned at him sadly, she very highly doubted this woman would want all that. She probably just wanted him to be a decent living human. It wasn't her place to tell him that though, he would figure it out eventually. "Fine, well, I'm off to the living realm. Who know? Maybe I will come across your poor widowed Belle…" She grinned wickedly at his look of jealousy. "I will have my sirens visit me, to tell me that you have not left your land. They will have to stay water bound but I hear this new world is right next to a convenient ocean."

Rumple bowed again at her, "I will keep to Tartarus and only procure the evil souls. I take it you have no qualms about how I treat them?" She shook her head no, the little remnants of evil still in her made her not care an awful lot what he did here. "Right, well, have a good day then Lorelei." He bowed yet again as she laughed quietly and vanished. He straightened and frowned, he desperately wanted to know where his possession was, and what it was. But, he had all of eternity to figure it out.

…

Lorelei appeared on the beach with all the living. She smiled at them, all lying on the beach just relaxing. She whistled loudly, making them all jump and stand to stare at her, but she hadn't whistled for them. The four golden sirens appeared, hanging on her and kissing her check and babbling quickly in instrumental noises. She laughed at them and eventually they stopped to stare at her. She waved her hand and a loud, high pitched note from a perfectly tuned violin resounded across the beach. 995 golden winged sirens appeared, all hugging and tugging on one another, music immediately being played. She mentally gave instructions to her four unwinged creations, she wanted the sirens tasked out to do as they should in the underworld. The four who had stood against her darker self were to be in charge while she was gone. The four smiled brightly and vanished, quickly racing to attend to everything that was to be done.

Lorelei stepped to the living and smiled brightly before clapping her hands and exclaiming, "Let's go home Ladies… and boys." At the clap of her hands they vanished in a streak of lightening and reappeared at the shore on the plains. She gestured to the water and this time David cut his hand to rinse it in the water. The boat showed up within a few moments and Snow and David boarded quickly, eager to get back to Neal. Regina squeezed Emma's hand and then stepped on the deck.

Emma held out her hand and said, "alright, I know the drill. Give me your cutie mark and then I get on then you get on."

Cocking a brow, Lorelei asked, "cutie mark?"

Emma laughed and said, "it's a pony thing… on t.v…. Nevermind just give me your charm."

Lorelei reached for it, but Henry called out form the boat, "No need, I'm like a permanent charm holder." He smiled as he held up his tattooed hand. Lorelei didn't know if that would work, but since he believed, she shrugged and stepped onto the deck. It worked. And she wasn't real sure how to feel about it. "Don't worry, I don't think I can use your magic. We're just sort of linked."

Lorelei frowned at him. She wasn't sure she liked him knowing how she felt either. She moved aside as Emma boarded and nodded at the boat driver. The fog gathered around them and they began to head to this other realm, to what some called home.


	18. Chapter 18

**I have decided to continue this story, instead of beginning a sequel. Because… well just because I want to! =) I hope you enjoy my story.**

 **OUAT is not mine, only the ideas I write belong to me, not the characters.**

Chapter 18

Snow and David sat near the front of the boat, facing backwards so their backs were to the boat driver. Emma and Regina sat in the middle, leaning against one another, fingers interlocked and smiles small and sweet. They had their backs to Snow and David because ever since they got on the boat the Charmings had taken to smiling at them and hinting about when the wedding will be. Henry had forced Lorelei to scoot over on the last seat at the back of the boat so he could sit beside her. She had considered keeping her wings, that would have taken up more space that he couldn't have sat there, but it would have been uncomfortable to sit here with her wings. She could always bring them back if she needed to. She felt uncomfortable with the way the boy could sense her feelings. No one could read her very well, and the fact that he could and that he was in fact a boy made her uncharacteristically nervous. But he had forced himself onto the small seat next to her immediately and she really couldn't sit anywhere else, so she just frowned down at him sitting beside her.

Catching a snippet of the Charmings idle chatter, Regina suddenly focused on the siren as the boat drifted slowly through the fog, "Lorelei, when we went to the underworld you changed our clothes. Can you return them to us, or are we stuck with these clothes?"

Lorelei hadn't thought about it actually. She focused for a moment and then with a flash, everyones clothing returned to them. "You're lucky you remembered. I had forgotten, and I don't know if I could have gotten them back once we were fully out of the underworld."

Emma felt her pockets, feeling keys and a cell phone in her pockets. She looked Regina over and smirked, "I kind of preferred the barely there dress…"

Smirking back at her Regina said, "I prefer that god awful red leather…" Both women were smiling and checking pockets for things like money while they giggled in the cutest way Snow had ever seen.

"I can't wait to help plan the wedding! You two are so adorable together!" Snow was nearly in tears with happiness.

Regina sighed and closed her eyes, "you can never doubt how much I love you. If I love you enough not to murder your mother… it simply must be true love." She smiled but then frowned in thought.

Emma frowned back at her, "what's wrong? Regina?" She had to say her name twice more before Regina answered her.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing dear." Emma stared at her blankly before Regina finally sighed, rolling her eyes at the blonde. "Fine. I was just trying to reason out how the fairy dust led me to Robin. I feel so much for you, and always have, even before I felt I loved you. I did feel something for Robin, and of course I felt strongly for Daniel but… You make me feel so much more than either of them did…" She grimaced and Emma squeezed her hand.

Lorelei cleared her throat to interrupt before asking, "Uh, if I may?" Regina gave an irritated look but motioned for her to go ahead. "Okay. I do not typically tell people this, because they can become incredibly irritating about it, but I can see things unlike you all can. I can't really describe it in a way you can totally understand but… Let me show you?" Henry nodded but Lorelei waved him away, she had no intention of sharing anything else with the boy. Regina and Emma nodded in a somewhat guarded way.

The siren put one hand over both women's eyes for a moment telling them to close them. They did and she said open them after she took her hands away. Regina gasped loudly as Emma swore when they opened their eyes. Both women's eyes had opened looking at Henry and Lorelei. Everything was normal except Henry had multiple shining white threads coming from where his heart is in his chest. One thread went to Regina, and one to Emma. Two more threads went past them to connect with Snow and David. More threads shot off in different directions, leading off into the fog. One thread was much thicker than the rest, but it hung loose on his chest. Emma had turned to look at her parents and made Regina look too.

Snow and David were sitting close to one another, and they both had many white threads coming from their hearts. Regina frowned at seeing one connecting Snow to herself. A white line connected Emma to each of them. The part that held Emma's attention however was the much thicker thread, like the one hanging from Henry, except this one connected David to Snow. She looked down at herself then and realized that she had a connection to everyone except Lorelei and a few that shot off into the fog also. Her thickest thread led straight to Regina's heart.

Regina had guessed the white threads must be some kind of love lines. She could assume the thicker one must be true love because it connected her to Emma, and Snow to David. She looked down at her own lines, very few threads shot off into the fog for her. But she was concerned that she was connected to Snow. However, the line going to Henry and the thicker one going to Emma made sense. She was a bit confused though on her own threads.

As if reading her thoughts, Lorelei explained, "the thin ones are love. The thickest ones are true love. Now, do not elaborate on what I tell you because I do not want the world to know exactly what you see. If there is a thick true love hanging, unconnected, then that person has not yet met their true love. If there is a thicker thread that is black instead of white and hanging, then that means true love lost."

Regina had two thicker black threads hanging from herself. No one else had the black ones. "I don't understand, Robin isn't dead."

"Okay, but he's not your true love, not anymore." She put her hands over the women's eyes again and the siren sight vanished. "Let's imagine for a moment. Let's imagine Daniel and yourself being together, and he was never killed. Would you have become the evil queen?"

"Of course not, his death caused me to turn to darkness." Regina told her angrily. What a stupid question.

"Chill. Ok, so when he lived, you were young and innocent and he was your true love. But, he did die, and you changed. You changed very very much. The dust took you to Robin Hood. If you had walked in that bar and met him and lived happily ever after with him, would you have continued your path of darkness?"

"No…" Regina frowned, trying to understand where this was going.

"Ok, so before you sunk deeper into darkness, Robin was your true love. But you walked away, and you changed again, becoming the incredibly sexy evil queen. Now, you stayed in that persona for a very long time, through a curse and all. Then, along comes Henry and Emma. They made you change again. You didn't turn back into the same person you were when you knew Daniel, or Robin, you become someone else entirely. A sort of, level ground. And as this person, Emma is your true love. What's really interesting however, is if you look at Daniel and Robin, would either of them have stood by you as every version of yourself?"

Regina considered Robin or Daniel standing beside her as her evil self… Neither would have, they would have fought her.

After letting her think a moment, Lorelei interrupted her thoughts, "Now, Emma here, she has personally met every version of you. Even the bandit version that was created by the author. She ran up against you as the evil queen, she saw Daniels death, and she battled the mayor. But no matter what, she didn't stop loving you. And even when she was fighting against you, she was trying to help you be a better person…" Shrugging, she finished, "Emma is the only person who could love every version of you. That's phenomenal."

The two women stared in each other's eyes and smiled brightly as they came together in a tight embrace.

Snow cleared her throat, "I have heard stories, but I didn't really think it possible… Could they be more than true loves?"

The siren nodded, "yep, truest love. I have never witnessed it before."

Emma turned a little towards Lorelei, "you had no lines. Why?"

Cocking a brow the siren replied, "because I am none of your business, thank you very much."

Henry laughed, "I bet you can hide your lines from people you let see with your eyes…"

Lorelei elbowed him gently, frowning at him, "quiet boy. I'll cut that branded hand off if you keep it up."

Henry didn't believe a word of it so he just laughed more at her. Lorelei was about to elbow him harder in annoyance but the fog was thinning suddenly around the front of the boat. Everyone turned to watch the bank of Storybrooke come in to view. It was night, but the moon was full and the lights of Storybrooke could be seen above the trees. As soon as the boat stopped, Snow and David jumped out, walking quickly across the water to the shore. Regina and Emma got off next, walking, not so quickly towards the bank. Lorelei pushed Henry out playfully, watching him stumble towards his mothers. Snow and David stopped with their backs to the water as soon as their feet were on the grass. Emma, thinking it a bit weird, stopped Regina and walked toward her parents alone. She stepped onto the bank and stood next to Snow looking off across the grass. Regina frowned and began to step up towards Emma, but in her haste she stumbled slightly and Lorelei caught her arm to steady her just before they both stepped on to the grass. Henry was the last one to make it ashore and he seemed to have walked through a spider web by the motions he was making, pulling invisible things from his face.

Regina shrugged off the sirens hand once she was firmly on land again and touched Emma's arm to ask her what the three of them were staring at. At the touch, Emma swung around as if startled and stumbled back from Regina staring past her with wide eyes.

"Regina! Behind you!" Emma called as David and Snow both swung around to stare, clearly startled past Regina also.

Regina spun around looking past Lorelei to Henry who was looking in every direction trying to see what Emma and the Charmings were obviously startled by.

"Emma, what the hell…" Regina started but was interrupted by Emma pulling her back and Snow grabbed Henry and practically threw him behind David and everyone else as they stared at Lorelei.

Frowning in intense confusion, Lorelei stared at everyone. Henry and Regina pulled themselves together and faced the three acting so strangely. "What is wrong with you three? You're acting like you have never seen the siren before." Regina asked, a bit angry at being jerked around like that.

Emma's wide eyes focused on Regina then, "the siren? Is that what it is? How did it get here? And when have you seen it before?"

Gritting her teeth Lorelei answered, "call me 'it' one more time woman…"

"Oh my god…" Regina felt an icy hand grip her heart as she began to put things together. "Oh my god, Lorelei, they don't remember you."

The siren's jaw dropped as her brows shot up in surprise, she looked back at the three staring her down like she were an alien, "do any of you remember the underworld at all?"

David spoke first as Snow and Emma looked thoroughly confused, "we are going to the underworld, to save a man named Killian Jones. He is Emma's true love and died fighting his own demons. Gold is taking us…" He trailed off as he looked around, realizing Rumple wasn't there. "Where the hell did he go?"

Regina heard nothing past David's first few words… Emma looked like she agreed with what he was saying. Emma didn't remember anything after leaving Storybrooke. Emma didn't remember her… She didn't remember kissing her, or holding her. Did she just lose another true love? Panic began to set in and her knees shook, but before they gave out, Emma steadied her with hands on her forearms.

"Hey, Regina. Calm down, what's wrong? What's going on here? What don't we remember?" Emma stared intently into Regina's eyes, trying hard to figure out what was happening here.

Lorelei was pacing. Tapping her chin with a finger. Henry scratched at his tattoo, apparently it got itchy when the siren got irritated. Suddenly she stopped at turned towards Henry, "Henry, when we hit the bank, what were you pulling off your face?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, I couldn't see anything, and I couldn't actually touch it, but something swiped across me when I stepped off the water."

Looking around erratically, the siren turned to Regina, "You remember everything?" Regina nodded sadly, trying to avoid looking Emma in the eye. Henry has my mark on him, and I had a hold of your arm from your stumble, and because you're soft." She flashed a sly grin and winked before going on in a serious tone. "So, my magic protected me, Henry and Regina."

"From what?" Snow asked.

"Someone cast a spell here. Something incredibly simple, so simple I didn't even notice it. So simple, it only erased your memories of the underworld." Lorelei frowned in thought again. "But it wasn't Regina, or Emma, obviously. Rumplestiltskin isn't here, and if it had been him I would smell it. I know him very well. So, who else in Storybrooke can use magic? Simple magic mind you, almost delicately simple."

Regina growled and stood up on her own, feeling much stronger now. "Blue".

Emma frowned at her, "mother superior blue? Why exactly would she want to wipe our memories of the underworld? And I mean it wasn't real effective considering you three weren't affected."

Regina rolled her eyes, "I don't know why she did it, but I bet she didn't plan on our new friend being immune to it, or me and Henry remembering." She did know one thing however, that she was going to find out and that Emma was going to get the memories back.

"Regina…" the siren spoke quietly to her, pulling her a little to the side so only she would hear. "What will Rumple's wife think when she learns her husband stayed in the underworld for power? And what exactly did Rumple give Hades to hide?"

Regina nodded, seeing what she was thinking, "You think he convinced Blue to erase our memories so Belle wouldn't know what happened to him. If we had no memory, she could be led to believe anything someone told her of where he went, and why."

The siren nodded, "I think maybe we should pay this mother of all crayons a visit."

Regina laughed out loud at that, "the mother of all crayons?"

Lorelei frowned, "you called her Blue, Emma called her mother superior. The superior mother is Blue…"

Regina laughed more and shook her head, "and here I thought you wouldn't fit in around here. Turns out, you're the perfect idiot for Storybrooke."

Waving off the laughter Lorelei went on, "whatever. Stop laughing! I will figure this out myself then. My magic feels very different but I will figure it out and I will solve Rumple's little mystery myself!" The siren turned around quickly and began walking away, towards the lights of town. She was about twenty feet off when Regina was about to call out for her to wait. She ended up just shouting in warning but it was too late.

As Lorelei stomped of, a massive black wolf crashed into her from the side. She had no idea where the beast had come from or how it was so quick, but she did know it had massive teeth and claws. She struggled to keep the beast from tearing into her (if it could, she wasn't trying to find out). They rolled with blinding movements across the grass, until the wolf managed to bite down on the sirens shoulder, narrowly missing her throat. The teeth sank in deep and Lorelei screeched out in pain. She gathered her magic and shoved at the animal with it… It didn't touch the animal. Panic setting in, she got her feet on it's chest and put her wings back on between her and the grass at her back. She used her wings to push as hard as she could against the wolf, sending it flying backwards into a tree. It made a sickening thud as it hit, the tree groaning under the impact.

Lorelei stood, panting and bleeding, staring at the thing. She was too stunned to do anything but stare. Her magic didn't touch it. It took all her strength to throw it. What the hell was this thing?! She waved her wings away, using the magic to heal her wound instead. Her magic felt very different and managing it was difficult. As her runes pulsed with her heart rate, slowly the wound began to heal.

Somehow, Snow was the first one to reach the pair, running immediately to the unconscious wolf against the tree. "Red! Red, please!" Snow spun to face the siren and screamed at her, "If she dies I will kill you with my bare hands!"

Cocking an indignant brow Lorelei responded, "In case you missed it, that furball attacked me, you ass."

"If she attacked you, you deserved it." David shouted as he ran to kneel beside the wolf.

Regina and Emma stopped between Lorelei and the Charmings. They looked unsure whose side to stand on. Emma stood with Regina, and Regina wasn't sure. Henry however, stood firm beside Lorelei. "No, she doesn't deserve to be attacked. I don't know what Red saw or smelled or whatever, but Lorelei isn't an enemy!" He sounded so sure, Regina nodded and slowly approached the wolf.

Putting a hand on the black fur, she closed her eyes and purple mist swirled around the wolf. When she opened her eyes she motioned for Snow and David to back up a bit. The purple smoke swirled and became a heavy red cloak that settled on the wolf. Lorelei dropped her hand from her wounded shoulder and stared, wide eyed and open mouthed at the woman who appeared under the cloak.

When Red fully had become her human self again, Regina put a hand on her head and after a few moments the woman's breathing steadied and she looked relaxed, asleep. "I will put her in Emma's bed at the loft so you two can watch her. She needs rest but she will be alright." She nodded at David and Snow. "I will find Neal and send him to you there. Keep an eye on her, and keep the cloak on her until you figure out what exactly she was doing." When the Charmings nodded, they vanished with Red in a swirl of purple smoke.

Emma cleared her throat, "uhm, Regina. If Red is staying in my bed, where exactly should I bunk?"

Regina grimaced a little, she had forgotten Emma didn't remember… "I have two guest rooms Miss Swan. One for you, one for the siren."

Emma blushed a little at the thought of staying with Regina… "Oh, yeah alright. I guess that'll work." She kicked a loose rock before asking kind of awkwardly, "So, are you going to explain to me why, if we went to the underworld and came back, Hook isn't here?" She wasn't sure why the thought of Hook was triggered by the idea of shacking up with Regina, but it was an interesting question.

Regina sighed deeply before answering, "I will explain everything to you Emma. But first, we need to find Neal, return him to his home and then deal with Blue." Hopefully, she thought to herself, we can brow beat Blue into undoing what she has done. At this point, Regina didn't really care why she did it, she just wanted Emma to remember. Explaining to the woman that they were true loves was not a conversation she wanted to go through.

Regina led the way towards Storybrooke, Emma close behind. Lorelei and Henry walked together behind both women, the siren frowning at how slowly her wound was healing. She didn't care about memories, or babies, or any color of the rainbow. She wanted to get her hands on the wolf woman and demand answers… However she did have patience. She let her thoughts wander to wondering if the people were going to suffer brain damage from having yet another round of memory loss. The mortals around here really needed to find another spell. As she watched the two women's lower bodies sway as they walked, Henry slapped her arm. She frowned at him in question.

"Those are my moms! Quit staring at their butts, that's gross!" He said quietly so they wouldn't hear.

She grinned wickedly at him, "how you like that tattoo now, boy?" He blushed violently as he stared at anything but the siren. At least he could only feel emotions, if he started seeing the sirens thoughts he would cut his hand off himself. The siren laughed loudly, at least she could torture him back.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Regina led the way into Storybrooke, going towards Granny's because anytime you needed to find someone here, they were probably at Granny's. She was also hoping to ask Granny herself about Ruby's behavior. Lorelei wasn't exactly her favorite either, but the fact that Red attacked her full force out of nowhere was odd, even for a werewolf. As she walked towards the door to the diner, someone burst out of the door, nearly breaking the little door bells off entirely. The body slammed into Regina full force and if it hadn't been for the arms crushing her in a vice-like embrace, she would have been thrown back to the street.

"Regina! Where have you been? What happened? Are you alright? Where is Snow and David? What happened with Hook, and the underworld…" Robin trailed off as Regina fought loose from his arms. She hadn't noticed the way he smelled like a pine tree before, but she didn't like it right now at all. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Regina held up her hands and he finally quit talking. When he closed his mouth, she put her hands down slowly and rolled her eyes at him, "Robin. I'm fine, the Charmings are fine. Everyone is fine. We need to find Neal and return him to them at the loft, do you have him here?"

Robin shook his head no, but he wasn't looking at Regina anymore, he was giving a strange look past her. "Who is that?" He pointed past her and she turned to see he must mean Lorelei.

"That, is Lorelei. She is a siren and helped us greatly in the underworld." She was slightly annoyed with him for not answering and came to realize she had a lot less patience for him than she used to. "Robin, where is Neal?"

Robin shook his head as if shaking the siren out, "oh, yes he is here. He's inside with Roland, and Helen."

"Helen?" Emma asked.

Robin smiled then, proudly. "Yes, I named my daughter Helen."

Regina smiled at him, a polite smile. They had talked about baby girl names, Helen was not one of them. "Who is with Neal? If they could take him to the loft that would be appreciated, we need to attend to a few other things."

"Oh, the blue fairy. She…" He didn't finish his sentence because all at once, Regina, Emma, and Henry were bolting past him to enter the diner.

After he caught his balance, Lorelei clapped him on the shoulder and whispered to him, "If you touch Regina again, I will break your neck." He gaped at her, she smiled sweetly in what could only be called a demonic manner and casually walked in to the diner.

When she got in to the diner, she was at a bit of a loss. She had thought that the women would have some woman in a choke hold at the least. But actually, they were just standing in the middle of the diner looking rather frustrated. "Well? Where is this superior mother?"

"She vanished the second we hit the door." Regina growled out. "We will have to chase her all the way back to her home."

The siren pursed her lips and chose not to comment. She knew when a woman looked ready to kill and Regina had perfected the look.

Emma sighed and drug herself to a booth and sat down. Henry huffed his own disappointment at the fairy vanishing and joined Emma, sitting across from her. Regina glared at them both and asked in an incredulous tone, "what exactly are you doing? Neal needs to be taken home, and we need to run down Blue."

Emma waved her hand and Neal disappeared (giggling) in a puff of white smoke. "There, he is home with the parents. Now, we are hungry. We can go nun hunting after we eat."

Henry nodded his agreement, "I feel like I haven't eaten in years!"

Regina frowned at them and was about to add to her side of the argument, but Robin had come in and taken up his booth seat beside Helen and across from Roland. "Well, you all have been gone for two weeks. Did you not eat well while you were gone?" He asked as he motioned for Regina to join him.

Regina had gasped in shock at him, "two weeks?! It was like a day, maybe two!" She turned to glare at the siren, who had sat next to Henry.

Lorelei put her hands up in defense, "I told you time doesn't flow in the underworld as it does here. I had no way to know how much time had passed. I would consider yourselves lucky you didn't come back before you left."

Regina chewed her cheek in thought as she waved off Robin's offer to join him and instead sat next to Emma. Emma watched the way her lips moved as she bit her cheek, watched her brow furrow in thought. And Emma was suddenly very aware of how close they were sitting to one another. She considered scooting over, to separate their thighs, but then, why should she when it obviously didn't bother Regina? She blushed a little and turned to look out the window in an attempt to stop staring at Regina.

Lorelei smiled, having watched all of Emma's actions. Even if she couldn't get her memories back, there was no way this true love was going to get lost. She just needed a little push. But later, she thought as she shook her head and looked around the diner. It was primarily the same as the underworld version, except warmer, more inviting. And it smelled fantastic! She had given up eating when she went to the underworld. There was no purpose behind it, and the food she created didn't really have a flavor anyway. But now she could smell plenty of things that needed to be devoured.

A woman came over to the booth, wearing a uniform and holding a notepad. "What can we get for you?"

Regina snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at her, as if she didn't belong there but then shook it off and said, "Just a turkey sandwich please. Dry. And a glass of water. Is Granny here?" The waitress shook her head no. Apparently Granny had left a few hours earlier.

Emma snorted at her order and made her own, "I want a grilled cheese, extra cheese. And a massive basket of fries, and a whole bottle of ketchup and two root beers, nevermind her water."

Regina raised a brow at the root beer but didn't protest. Actually, a root beer sounded phenomenal. Henry asked for pretty much the same thing Emma asked for except with a chocolate milkshake instead of root beer. And then it was the sirens turn.

"Do you have pie?" Lorelei asked the waitress.

"Uhm, yes? Of course." The woman looked at the siren like she was a mutant. Well, in all fairness, how often do you see a woman with silver eyes covered in silver and black tattoos?

"Fine, I want a piece of every pie and cake you have." Lorelei smiled and turned away from the woman, clearly done ordering.

"Yeah, we have four different pies right now, and three cakes…"

The siren nodded and waved her off adding a "Oh! And a root beer also." The waitress shook her head and put her hands up in surrender, before walking back to the kitchen area.

Henry giggled and asked her, "do you even know what root beer tastes like?"

"No. But I want to try it. Your moms like it apparently." The siren told him.

They waited in relative silence for their orders to come. Emma was trying to not think about how warm Regina felt next to her, while casually staring at her from the corner of her eye. Regina was pretending she didn't notice Emma staring and occasionally she ran a hand up and down the thigh touching Emma, pretending to be stretching, or just being anxious. Whether Emma ever remembered what happened or not, Regina was going to make her feel it again if it was the last thing she did.

At some point, Robin came and told Regina he would like to speak to her tomorrow, but it was late now and she was obviously busy so he was taking his children back to his forest camp for the night. She smiled politely at him and nodded in agreement to speak to him tomorrow. She had to break up with him. She had honestly forgotten all about being involved with the man at some point in the underworld. But, even if Emma never remembered, they would be together. She had utterly no interest in Robin. Just before he walked out the door however, Robin turned and called to Regina, "oh, you haven't seen Zelena have you? She hasn't been seen since before you all left, remember? I thought perhaps she went with you? I had thought if she stayed hidden, when you left she would come back…"

Regina went wide eyed and made an effort not to let him see her face as she answered, "I haven't seen her, no."

He nodded sadly and left with his children. "Oh my god Regina! He didn't know you were blasting her back to Oz?" Emma nearly yelled at her as soon as the door was shut.

"Shh! Shut up you idiot! No he didn't know. He would never have allowed it. I will tell him tomorrow, hopefully he will just be mad enough at me that he will break things off. At least then he won't feel replaced…" Regina quit talking abruptly as the food arrived. She grimaced at what she had nearly told Emma. She was going to make Emma fall in love with her again, but just blurting it out would be confusing and make things awkward for the blonde. She quickly took a big drink of her root beer, closing her eyes and actually letting a tiny pleased noise escape. She was really thankful Emma forced this drink on her.

Emma wanted to ask a thousand questions suddenly but had let her mouth drop open in shock when she heard Regina saying she wanted Robin to break it off with her. Regina didn't want to see him anymore. What the hell had happened in the underworld to make her want to be rid of nature boy? She stared and thoughts spun right up until Regina moaned a little around her root beer. Thoughts stopped just then, hearing that noise coming from a soon to be single Regina… Out of the corner of her eye however, she saw the salacious smirk the siren offered up at Regina's noise. She blushed deeply at her jealousy, because she suddenly realized what must have happened. Regina had fallen for Lorelei. It made sense, Emma supposed, Lorelei was attractive, and she was apparently the hero for them in the underworld. Emma started eating her sandwich, scooting just a little bit away from Regina, just enough to not feel her pressed against herself. Once again, she had to push those old feelings down in to hiding. Regina obviously just wasn't meant for Emma…

Regina pointedly ignored the filthy look the siren was giving her around a mouthful of pie. She was confused, Emma had pulled away slightly. Maybe she thought she was upset about Robin? Whatever it was, she would fix it soon. But as usual, there were just things that needed done before any happy endings for the evil queen.

They ate in silence, everyone too busy stuffing their faces to talk. Lorelei ate every piece of pie and cake, getting plenty of both on her face, and drank three bottles of root beer also. Henry nearly lost a finger when he swiped a bit of frosting off one of Lorelei's plates. She stabbed the table with the fork, right beside his hand. "Back off boy. That was a warning shot." She stared at him until he went back to his fries.

When everyone was done, Regina pulled out enough cash to pay for everyone. She raised a brow at Lorelei, "in the future, you will need to pay for your own diabetic coma dinner."

Lorelei smiled at her and nodded. When she got her magic under control, she could easily create her own food, or money for that matter. She had been watching Emma for a few minutes and was concerned about the way she had apparently shut down her emotions. When Regina talked about breaking up with Robin, Emma should have been happy, but instead she seemed to grow cold. Maybe she though Regina was kidding about breaking it off with him? Oh well, she thought, another day, another problem.

The four stood and Regina headed for the door, Emma close behind and Henry and the siren nudging each other playfully. Regina made a mental note to separate the two. Henry was too young to have a siren like her for a friend. Branded together or not, there are plenty of things that Lorelei thinks about constantly that he does not need to know about. As they walked out of the diner, Henry yawned widely and rubbed his eyes a bit. It was contagious and soon everyone was yawning with itchy eyes.

Lorelei stared from one person to the next with a confused look. "Should we be going into a war with the beige fairy when you three are falling asleep?"

"Beige fairy? Is it that difficult for you to remember the color blue?" Emma snapped at her. Regina had horrible taste in partners. First the bland, smelly, humorless tree hugger, and now this tattooed brain games reject.

Raising her brows teasingly Lorelei responded, "are you always this cranky when you're tired? I caught a glimpse of her through the window, she looked more beige than blue to me." She squinted at Emma and added, "or is something else on your mind?" Lorelei thought she saw something flash on Emma's face… but jealousy made absolutely no sense. Maybe in this realm, this living reality, even she needed sleep.

"Children, please. Don't feel smart, but I think Lorelei is right." Regina frowned and looked at the clock tower. "It's nearly ten thirty, and if we are this tired now, maybe the underworld trip is catching up to us. We should rest and start again tomorrow. I can ward the mansion against Blue. She can't really do much anyway, so I'm sure we will be able to question her tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and Regina took all of them in a swirl of purple to the foyer in her home. She switched the lights on with a wave and kissed Henry's head and told him goodnight before turning him to the stairs. He seemed to drag himself up to his room then and Regina doubted he would even remove his shoes before going to sleep. She turned to give Lorelei her directions to a guest room, but found Emma staring the siren down as Lorelei simply stared back at her blankly. "What is wrong with you Emma?"

Emma started a bit, she had been glaring. Blushing at the thought of where the siren was probably going to end up sleeping, Emma answered Regina in a quick manner, making her way upstairs to the guest room as she spoke, "nothing, just tired. I know where I'm going. Nite Gina."

Regina watched her go, watching her hips and she climbed the stairs. She sighed, well her mother would have been happy. Nothing intimate was happening tonight. Turning back to the siren, she motioned for her to go up the stairs first. There was no chance Lorelei was going to stare at her hips. Stopping at the second guest room, Regina opened the door and motioned Lorelei in. "Now, the bathroom is across the hall. And the kitchen is downstairs. If you need something, and I am asleep, ask Henry." Regina turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The siren asked, sounding concerned.

Frowning, Regina pulled the siren's hand off and let it drop, taking a step away from the all too close woman. "I am going to bed. My bedroom is at the end of the hall. Do not bother me unless it is important."

Lorelei looked down the hall to her door. "You expect me to sleep in here. Alone. And you are going to sleep over there. Alone." Regina nodded and Lorelei ran a hand through her short black tipped silver hair. "I can't remember the last time I slept, but I know I wasn't alone. And when I rested in the underworld, I wasn't alone. I actually can't remember being alone."

Understanding dawned on Regina then and she gave the siren a sad smile, "it isn't pleasant, but you will get used to it… or you will find company. Either way, go to sleep. Everyone will be here in the morning." She turned then and went to her master bedroom. She quickly washed her face and put on a pair of dark purple silk pajamas and climbed in to her bed. She must have fallen asleep in seconds.

Emma magicked her own boxers and tank top to sleep in and tried to concentrate on why she felt so jealous about Lorelei. If she made Regina happy, then Emma should be happy for them. But the fact that Regina was with a woman who wasn't her just wouldn't stop chewing at her heart. She couldn't think of it too long, because sleep overwhelmed her in minutes.

Lorelei tossed and turned and shifted every covering on the bed. She had dropped all her clothes and was flopping around trying to get comfortable, but it simply wasn't doing any good. She felt like sleeping, but couldn't. She couldn't sleep alone, it was that simple. She stood up and paced a few moments before coming to the logical conclusion that she could sneak in to Regina's room and sleep next to her as long as she woke before Regina did. The mortal woman was exhausted, there was no chance Lorelei would wake her by climbing in bed. So, the siren crept down the hall and slowly entered Regina's room, closing the door behind without any sound at all. She could see Regina sleeping soundly in the bed. With perfect smoothness, she laid on the bed, pulling the sheets over herself, and relaxed immediately when she felt the warmth coming from the other woman. She didn't even need to touch her, she was already drifting off. Lorelei smiled to herself as she laid at least a foot from Regina, finally falling asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Emma opened her eyes to find bright sunlit filling the room. She stretched out, yawning. She considered trying to sleep some more but her stomach growled loudly, so she instead sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched out some more. As she stood, preparing to head to the bathroom for a nice shower, she heard the unmistakable sound of a furious Regina yelling and swearing loudly and the sound of things hitting walls and floors. She bolted out the door and flew to the master bedroom, throwing the door open without bothering to knock.

And then she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes attempted to gather the scene in front of her. Regina was in dark silk pajamas, her hair a little mussed from her pillow. She looked like she had clearly just woken up. But the odd part was the way she was yelling at a mound of blankets on the floor as she punctuated her words by beating the mound with what appeared to be a broken standing lamp.

"You… stupid… inconsiderate… single-minded… piece of… filth…" Regina was panting with the effort of beating the lump of blankets.

Emma ran over to her and grabbed the lamp stick, effectively stopping the yelling and beatings. Once she quit, Emma could hear muffled words coming from the blankets as what Emma assumed was Lorelei fought to get out of them.

"You need to calm the fuck down for starters. It's not like I was even touching you. And if you hit me one more damn time I will suggest Emma check her heart…" She was still fighting the blankets but shut her mouth as her head popped out and she saw Emma. "Ah… well… ok. Maybe I deserve a few good swings…"

Emma was looking at Regina now, wide eyed with curiosity. Regina looked uncomfortable and began smoothing the wrinkles in her pajamas. Lorelei gathered the blankets around herself and shuffled out the door, mumbling something about her big fat mouth and brunettes with sticks.

"Regina, what about my heart?" Emma looked her right in the eye and waited for her to respond.

Regina sighed and gestured to her now bare bed. They sat down, Regina shifting uncomfortably until Emma sat down and took a deep breath. "Ok. I will tell you everything, from the beginning. But, please, just try to keep an open mind. I won't lie to you, I wouldn't, even if you couldn't tell when I am." Emma nodded and Regina began from the point where Robin stayed behind. She left out the kisses and cuddles except for the first one on the river Styx. There was no point in adding to the unavoidable awkwardness that would likely come to be.

When she ended the events at the part that Lorelei had grabbed her arm as they stepped on the bank, Regina took a few moments to collect herself as she waited for Emma's reaction. She hadn't looked at the woman throughout the telling. After a few minutes of silence, she looked up and met those green eyes. Emma had cried at some point, but now her eyes were dry and she was looking deep into Regina's brown eyes with a quiet smile.

"Say something Emma." Regina nervously chewed her bottom lip in anticipation.

Emma tried to find words, but watching the older woman bite her lip in nervousness pushed Emma over some invisible edge that had always held her back. She wrapped a hand around the back of Regina's neck and kissed her hard.

After just a moment of pure shock, Regina kissed her back, pushing all of her emotions into the blonde. She couldn't help the tears that leaked out of her eyes and Emma pulled back, brushing the tears off her cheeks with her thumbs, cupping Regina's face.

"Regina, are you okay? Was that wrong? I'm so…"

Regina quickly kissed her again, softly and with a smile so she would stop speaking. "I didn't expect… I didn't think that if you didn't remember… I don't know! I'm just really happy Emma."

Emma smiled and kissed Regina more, deepening the kiss and becoming suddenly aware that she was wearing only her tank top and boxer, and Regina didn't have much more on… When Regina bit her bottom lip, the thinking was finished and Emma eased the woman back on to the bed, gently rolling on top of her.

Regina could feel the heat inside herself building into bonfire, but as much as she wanted to see how far this could go, now wasn't the time. Gently, and with a smile, she pushed Emma's shoulders just enough to make the woman stop kissing her and meet her eyes questioningly. "Emma…"

Emma's heart rate triples hearing the lusty tone in her voice and was not surprised when her own voice cracked, "What's wrong?"

"As much as I very much want to let your hands continue roaming… " She had to take a breath to steady her voice, and resolve. "We need to get to Blue. And, I need to deal with Robin." She grimaced when his name made Emma's face scrunch.

"Well, anytime you want to cool me down, mention that guy." She smiled as she kissed Regina quickly one more time and sat up, helping Regina sit up too. They bumped shoulders before Emma stood, giggling. "Okay, you're right. I'll go get dressed and find the kid."

Regina stood too, watching Emma's backside as she started for the door. "Actually, I will see about Henry, you find your little friend."

Emma stumbled turning to glare at Regina, "my little friend? You're the one sleeping with her." She managed to duck the flying shoe as she ran out the door laughing.

Henry and Lorelei had taken up seats at the kitchen island. Henry was wearing the wrinkled slept in clothes he had on the day before, hair sticking up in every direction. He was eating a bowl of cereal, slowly crunching as he watched the siren slamming through an apple pie with her hand. She was stuffing pie in her mouth and chewing loudly while using her free hand to hold the blankets around her still naked body.

"Mom is gonna kill you when she sees you got pie all over her blanket. Not to mention killing you for eating her pie. And the whole 'sitting in the kitchen naked' thing."

Swallowing a mouthful of amazingly delicious pie, she answered, "your mother is far too busy kissing your other mother to pay me any attention." She licked a particularly large lump of pie filling off her hand before continuing. "Besides, I think I got the hang of my magic in this realm." She concentrated on cleaning the pie off the blanket and there was a flash of silver… immediately followed by scorching flames all over the blanket. "shit shit shit!" Lorelei continued swearing as she batted at the flame covered blanket, she used her magic again attempting to put the fire out. What could have been fifty gallons of icy water fell over her. She shivered as she glared at Henry who was laughing so hard he had fallen off his stool.

"What the actual fuck are you doing?!" Emma screamed as she turned into the kitchen. There stood the siren, sopping wet, wrapped in a charred blanket. Henry was gasping for air as he attempted to stop laughing while laying in the puddle covering most of the floor, effectively making himself sopping wet. "Oh my god kid, Regina is going to kill you both! Go change!" She pushed the still laugh snorting kid towards the stairs and refocused on the siren who was currently picking bits of apple out of what Emma assumed was a pie corpse on the counter. "What did you do? And how exactly could you screw up this hard?"

The siren shrugged, water still dripping off her face. "I haven't quite gotten a grip on my magic…" She ended the sentence with a smile.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that maybe when she opened them the siren would be gone entirely. Opening one eye she sighed in disgust at finding her still there, licking pie off her hand. "Okay. Just… go put clothed on okay?"

Lorelei shrugged, "my clothes are filthy and torn from being attacked last night. I could try to magic more clothing but…" She gestured to the horrific kitchen around herself.

"No no no. Good point. Okay, well first…" Emma focused on her own magic and vanished the pie mess and all the water, even drying the charred remains of the blanket around the siren. She was about to magic some clothing for the siren but was shocked as she looked up from the floor to see the siren standing there wearing nothing but silver runes. "Why would you…"

Unfortunately, Emma's words were interrupted by Regina walking in at that very moment. She immediately started laughing loudly and slapped Emma on the arm telling her, "now you see why it wasn't a total shock waking up to her naked in my bed." She waved dismissively at the entire kitchen before going to check on Henry, still laughing.

Emma turned on the siren, furious. She used her magic to put clothes on the woman. Nothing fancy, just loose jeans and a black t-shirt. The siren jumped and started pulling at her clothes.

"What is this?!" She asked as she pulled the strap of her bra out of her shirt.

"That's a bra. You are required to wear one in this realm."

"Well what is this?!" The siren had left the bra to pull the hem of her underwear up past the top of her jeans.

"Underwear, also required." Emma turned to leave but turned with another thought, "and, if you can't behave, I will take those boy shorts and give you a thong instead." Laughing at the incredibly confused, and wary look on the siren's face, Emma made her way to the stairs. She still wanted her shower.

Regina made sure Henry was getting himself together before going back to the master bedroom to do her makeup. When she entered, she heard the shower in her bathroom come on. Half of her wanted to go make sure it was Emma and not Lorelei. The other half however, told her if it was Emma, she may not be able to walk back out…

So she sighed and sat in front of her mirror and began applying her makeup. Eventually, the shower shut off and Regina felt Emma's magic in the bathroom. She must have magicked herself some clothes. Regina closed her eyes and tried to still her heartbeat at the realization that she should have at least peeked into the bathroom…

"Oh, hey. You don't mind I used your bathroom do you? The other one is full of Axe and Old Spice. I like your stuff a lot better."

Regina smiled at her, "no, of course I don't mind." She stood and wrapped her arms around the now lavender scented blonde. "Maybe next time I will join you." She pressed a quick kiss to the astonished mouth and giggled as she bit her own lip and wandered out of the room. She was pleasantly aware that Emma watched her hips sway as she left.

Eventually Emma pulled her self together and made her way downstairs. She found everyone in the foyer. At first she was going to apologize for taking so long, but it became clear that they weren't really waiting for her.

Regina had her arms crossed and had one of her most determined looks on her face. "Lorelei, if you cannot control your magic then do not use it. You could have killed yourself and Henry. I'm tempted to leave you here while we go after Blue, but I don't really want to rebuild my house after you destroy it trying to magic up a toothpick."

The siren had a sort of angry pout on when she answered her, "It's really not my fault woman. It's different here! And it's annoying. I'm still not sure if my magic failed me when that dog attacked me or if it was immune to me." She frowned then before continuing. "Speaking of the dog lady, who is she and where is she now?"

Henry rolled his eyes and answered her this time, "That was Ruby and she is a werewolf, not a dog lady. She is actually a really cool person. You probably just smelled like something evil, or dead or something so her wolf attacked you. Sometimes the wolf part can be hard to control." He shrugged.

"If you even think about hurting Red, the whole town will probably hunt you down to kill you." Emma told her as she came to stand beside Regina who was currently putting on her coat. She handed Emma her red leather jacket and as she put it on she told her, "so, do you really think Blue will just be holed up in the convent?"

Regina shrugged into her coat, "I do. She doesn't have a lot of options. In fact, I can almost guarantee she will be sitting in her little office, dressed like mother superior, and deny she did anything at all."

Clearing her throat, Lorelei interrupted, "I can make her talk. My magic may not be working, but my charming nature is, well… natural." She smiled with a flash of her runes. "And who knows, maybe I can sleep with her tonight."

Henry made a gagging noise, which was echoed by Emma. Regina grimaced, "do you have no actual taste in women? How about you try to actually form a relationship with a woman who doesn't look like a complete old hag?"

"Appearance is nearly irrelevant Regina. Geez, shallow much?" The siren opened the front door and walked out, only to rush back in with chattering teeth. "Holy shit it is cold!"

Regina chuckled darkly at her but decided to be nice this time and poofed a wool lined jacket on her. "Yes, there is weather in this realm dear. Now, let's take a short cut, I am in no mood to walk anywhere." Regina poofed them to the street in front of the convent.

Emma leaned in and asked her, "should we call my parents to provide backup?"

Regina snorted, "please. Your parents think the blue fairy is a loving magical wish granter. In actuality, she is a manipulative, cold hearted bitch who is second only to Rumple when it comes to manipulating people."

Emma wasn't dumb enough to argue so she just nodded. "Okay, well let's go find her." The group headed towards the front doors. As soon as they got within a few feet, Regina could feel something was happening inside. Not magic, at least not a lot. But something was going on here.

Regina glance at Emma, letting her know something was wrong here. Regina pushed the door open and immediately found herself facing a blank brick wall. "What the hell?..." She spun around, but behind her was another brick wall, she was in a maze. "Fuck!" She swore loudly at herself for assuming Blue didn't have any tricks left. Fortunately, she wasn't an idiot. She put a hand on the brick wall and created a doorway to the other side, she smiled to herself and walked in a straight line through the walls. Eventually she would come to something; the center or an edge.

Emma swore loudly and repeatedly when she found herself in the maze. She began blasting holes through the walls in front of her, walking straight to somewhere.

Lorelei snapped her fingers in front of Henry to snap him out of his daze. "Hey, focus boy."

Henry shook his head and looked around. Brick walls, a maze of some sort. Great. "We need to find my moms."

"Ha! Yeah, I'm going to chase them like a little lost puppy… any second now… wait for it… Hmm, look at that? I'm not a puppy!" She laughed a little maniacally then and hooked her arm with his and waved her hand and they found themselves on top of the brick wall. She looked at her hand a bit confused, her magic must still be acting up. She had intended to transport them back to the mansion. "Hmm.. well at least we didn't catch fire." She glanced at Henry but he was busy staring off across the tops of the walls.

"It's a labyrinth. And look!" he pointed out over the sea of walls to see bricks flying as someone was blasting through them. "That's gotta be Emma! Mom wouldn't blow it up, someone could get hurt, but Emma wouldn't think about it." He laughed as he started walking along the wall, trying to figure out how to get to her.

Groaning loudly, she grabbed his shirt to stop him. "Henry, we have choices here. I know you're a boring sort of boy but hear me out. I get us out of here, we go eat pie and maybe chase down a few lovely ladies and we have us a nice time. There's no reason we need to go find your moms. They're a drag."

Henry pulled out of her grip and stared at her, "I'm not leaving them here to find their own way out. We came here together and we need to finish this together. And, for the record, I will never go chasing women with you." He turned and continued walking across the walls, trying to puzzle out a path towards the blasting bricks.

The siren frowned and considered leaving him to find his own way. He was going about it in the worst way. She could feel Regina's magic too, the three of them would never find each other. She thought a moment longer then sighed in irritation and caught up to the boy and with a hand on his shoulder, she flashed them both to above Emma. She whistled loudly and Emma looked up in shock. "Hi blondie, come on up." In a flash Emma was on top of the wall with them, she put a hand on her shoulder and they flashed to the far side of the labyrinth, above a calmly walking Regina, making elegant doorways in the brick. "Hey you sexy bitch!" The siren called out, and then ducked as a fireball flew past her head. Grinning widely, she flashed Regina to the top of the wall. "Now, stop wandering around lost, and go there." She pointed straight for a dim light shining at the far end opposite them all.

Regina squinted towards it, but she wasn't sure she could poof them there since she really didn't know where they were to begin with. "I'm not sure…"

Lorelei laughed and with a wave of her hand and a flash of lightening, all four appeared standing in front of a brightly lit door. "I think I have a handle on my magic ladies…" Her silver eyes flashed with a malicious intent as she stepped past them to burst through the door. She wasn't sure what she had thought to find, but a thin piece of metal around her neck and an arrow in her face was not it. She opened her mouth to swear, and nothing came out. She spoke, and no sound was made. She tried to magic herself away… and nothing came, not a single spark. Based on Regina's growling, her magic wasn't working either.


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you for the reviews and support! This chapter was another one I rewrote several times. I hope you like it!**

Chapter 21

The siren had shot past everyone to burst through the door and it had immediately closed behind her. Regina sighed and reached the door with more patience than Lorelei possessed. She swung it open, expecting to find the siren. Instead, Emma and Henry followed her into a cozy office space with Blue herself sitting behind a small desk at the far end of the room. The siren however, was no where to be seen. Henry closed the door and opened it again, the maze was gone, there was a hallway and a few doors that he could see now. They were in the convent.

"What is going on here?" Regina put her hands on hips and squared herself in front of Blue's desk. The fairy simply sat calmly and pulled three glass vials from a desk drawer.

"Regina, I believe you came for these?" Blue gestured to the vials, picking one up and handing it to Emma as the blonde had leaned over the desk to look at them.

"This one says Emma…" Emma read.

"Don't touch that! You have no idea what she is planning or what is in those." Regina snatched the vial from the woman's hand and put it down beside the other two.

Blue smiled kindly and told them, "these are the memories I took. I had no intention of keeping them, I assure you." Emma could tell she wasn't lying… but still… "They are labeled Emma, Snow, and David. And of course, you can take them all and I do apologize for the trouble it may have caused."

Regina waited, assuming the fairy would explain why she had taken them to begin with, but she didn't. Henry however, did not have as much patience it seemed because he slapped the desk with his palms, making everyone jump a little when he yelled, "Where is she? Where is Lorelei? I know you have her and something bad is happening to her!" Regina took him by the arm and pulled him back a bit.

"Henry, what is wrong with you? We do not just go around screaming at people, I don't care who they are." Regina scolded him.

Henry twisted out of her grip and glared at the fairy, "I can feel her mom. She is angry, very angry. I can't even begin to describe how mad she is right now. I'm sorry, I guess some of her feeling leaked into me."

Emma turned to Blue then, "alright, you have about five seconds before I start getting mad too. Spill it fairy, what's going on here."

Blue glanced at the three people in her office and decided she needed to speak or she was going to be the one in trouble. "Okay, let me start by telling you again that I never intended to keep the memories. The plan was simply to take them, making you all forget the siren. Then we would approach her and trade the memories back to all of you in exchange for something from her." She stopped and hoped that would suffice, but considering the small ball of fire that appeared in Regina's hand, she continued, shivering from the chill in her spine. "We only needed Lorelei, not all of you. I had thought the maze would separate you all and eventually she would come through alone, which she did. She was taken some place else to be spoken to and you are all free to go."

"Fine. But where is she?" Regina didn't really care what was happening to the siren, she caused nothing but trouble anyway. Henry however would be harder to appease. Regina asked again after a few moments of silence form the fairy, "Where is she Blue?"

Blue studied her desk and mumbled something along the lines of I don't know and Emma called her out on the lie. "I don't know exactly. She is in a place that Mr. Gold created. I can't even get there myself. She is being held only until she gives us what we need."

"And who, precisely is we?" Regina asked.

Blue grimaced and shook her head no, but Emma leaned in closely, staring her in the eye and she broke before very long, "Robin Hood. He is holding her there."

Regina gasped and demanded more answer, "what the hell does he want from her?"

Blue frowned at Regina then as Emma backed up in shock. "Regina, you have been gone for two weeks, you didn't tell him you sent Zelena to Oz, and you have fallen in love with someone else." She looked Emma up and down then, clearly displeased. "Whatever he is collecting from her, he deserves for your betrayal. My job as the Blue fairy is to help good people with happy endings. And Robin is a good man."

Emma gave no warning before slapping Blue so hard she nearly toppled out of her chair. "That, is for everyone you didn't help. People who actually deserve it. If Regina had left Zelena here, the whole town would have been destroyed and she would have ran off with the baby as Storybrooke burned."

Regina smiled at Emma defending her, but touched the woman's arm to bring her back. "Emma, I would like to know who exactly told him all this. And who told Blue for that matter."

Emma nodded towards Blue, making her talk again, "Mr. Gold came here about a week ago. He told us everything about Zelena and the two of you. He gave Robin something, I don't know what, and told him to use it to get what he needed. I don't know what he needs or what Gold gave him. My part was to borrow the memories and enchant the doorways to the maze and here. In return, Mr. Gold signed the deed to the convent over to me so we will never need to worry about making his rent again."

Regina and Emma both huffed in disgust. The oh so righteous Blue fairy, trading lives for a deed. How noble… Henry however, didn't contain himself so well, and Emma barely grabbed him before he made contact with Blue by lunging at her. "Kid, you need to calm down! We are leaving, with our memories and I may not know her as well as you do, but from what I've seen, the siren can handle herself just fine."

Henry actually growled as he stared at Blue, "you are a self righteous hypocrite! Where were you when my mom needed help? Where were you when she was a kid? You don't help the people who need it, you only help the people you can use later. That's why you helped Snow, because you knew one day she would be queen and she would give you power and make you look like a good person. But you aren't! You're just a manipulative bitch!"

"Enough! We're leaving, Emma take the vials." Regina grabbed Henry's arm and when Emma had the vials, all three vanished back to the mansion.

Blue took a shaking breath and wrapped her arms around herself. What a horrible boy he turned out to be, she thought. Giving herself a little shake she pulled some papers in front of herself and went back to her business. Well, she hadn't done anything wrong, of course. She had helped Robin get a happy ending. And, she had ensured her fairies would keep their home. Fortunately for herself, she knew she was above good, she was the very definition of a good person. She smiled as she put the boy out of her mind, he was obviously a bad seed.

Henry was pacing angrily in the foyer. "We have to find her, she is mad. There is something else too, but I didn't want that fairy to know. She is white hot angry, but also weak. Something has made her weak. I don't know what but whatever Robin is doing, it's drained her somehow. We have to find her."

Regina watched him pace and listened to him, but really, she had no way of finding the siren. "Henry, can you find her? I mean, can you lead us to her somehow?" He shook his head no, "I can't find her either dear. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do until she is released or breaks out or we come across Robin. I'm sorry."

Emma put a hand on Henry's shoulder, stopping his pacing. "Henry, as soon as we can get a lead on where she is, we will try to help her. But, really, don't you think Lorelei can take care of herself? I mean she is a siren and like immortal…"

Henry shook his head sadly, "I wish you could feel what I do from her. She is in trouble. Immortal doesn't mean she can't be hurt, it just means she can't die."

Regina was examining the vials Blue had given them. After scouring through them with her magic, she had decided that they were probably not a trap. But still… "Emma, why don't we let your parents try theirs first?"

Emma raised a brow at the brunette, "no, Regina. I will take it first. But you're cute." She laughed as she gave Henry's shoulder a gentle squeeze then went to Regina and took the one with her name on it. She took a deep breath and then took it like a shot.

Regina waited with a pained expression, if Blue managed to do something… "Emma? Do you remember the underworld? Emma?"

Emma had closed her eyes, when she opened them, she jumped and looked Regina up and down before saying, "who the hell are you?!"

Regina gasped and covered her mouth, her heart may have stopped entirely. She might have passed out but then Emma started laughing. With a furious glare, Regina shouted at her, "Miss Swan! That is not funny!"

Emma fended off Regina's slapping hands, still laughing. "I'm sorry! I couldn't help it! Yes, I remember everything." She caught both of the mad womans wrists in her hands and wrapped them around her own body, pulling Regina in close. She pressed their lips together and after just a few moments of lingering anger, Regina relaxed in her arms and they held each other kissing, right up until Henry sighed.

"Look, I'm happy for you two, really, but could you maybe not make out in front of me?" Henry had turned his back on his mothers.

Laughing, Emma kissed Regina's lips once more before releasing her. "Okay kid. Let's go get your grandparents minds back to them and we can check on Red while we're at it."

He nodded and they headed to the door, deciding to drive this time. Eventually they pulled up in front of the loft and all three made their way up the the Charmings door. Regina was going to knock, but Emma and Henry just walked right in, so she followed.

Snow was cooking something, and David was sitting at the kitchen table, making faces at Neal. "Emma! Henry! And Regina… " Snow said, obviously confused on the last one.

"We have your memories." Regina held up the two bottles. She wasn't really sure if she was looking forward to Snow and David remembering. They had been a little too welcoming when Emma and Regina came together, but then again, the way Snow had been surprised and somewhat disappointed at seeing her here was shockingly hurtful. She handed Snow her vial and then gave David his.

David shot his like Emma did, and Snow drank hers with a bit more dignity. They closed their eyes, and when they opened, Regina could tell they had their minds all back. Both of them rushed Emma and Regina, taking turns hugging each one strongly. Regina did her best to tolerate it but when they went for a third round, she put her hands up and backed away. The Charmings smiled at her and gave in, going back to cooking and playing with Neal. Henry had immediately gone up to check on Red, and hadn't come back down. Regina sat at the table to also play with Neal as Emma went up the stairs. She relayed the events that had taken part since they separated, and as she thought they would, the Charmings looked skeptical about Blue and her involvement. But, Regina wasn't in the mood to argue and neither were they so everyone let it drop as Snow began preparing enough food for everyone.

When Emma entered the room, Henry was sitting on the edge of the bed, talking quickly and quietly to Red who was listening intently. "Henry? Everything alright?" Emma asked suspiciously.

Henry smiled and nodded, leaving the room silently. Emma watched him go, before turning curious eyes on Red. "Care to share what he is doing exactly?" She asked Red.

Red grimaced and said, "you won't like it…"

"I figured."

"Okay, so I attacked that woman. Henry said her name is Lorelei?" Emma nodded at her and she continued, "right, well that wasn't entirely me. It was like something took over my wolf and made me attack her. What's strange though, is I was focused on drawing blood. Like that was my mental mission somehow. Except, she didn't bleed. It's weird. And Henry wants me to use my sense to find her, but I'm worried I'll attack her again. I don't know what happened but I don't want it to happen again."

Emma frowned and eventually gave up. "I don't know. My best guess is someone sent you after her, to kill her or hurt her or something. Don't worry about it."

Red chewed her lip nervously, "yeah but, is she alright? I mean, I know she knocked me out, but I bit her…"

"If you're worried about her becoming a werewolf, don't worry. She's immortal, so you didn't really hurt her, not for very long anyway. And if she does turn into a wolf, well, that's just another ability she'll have I guess. Really, don't worry."

Red smiled a little before she whispered, "she was super hot too… if she forgives me, I'm totally asking her out."

Emma gagged and stood up, walking out as Red laughed loudly. Emma shook off the horrid images assaulting her mind as she joined the family at the table. Everyone was eating and as her stomach growled loudly, she realized she hadn't eaten today. Snow handed her a bowl and she dug in eagerly.

Before too long, Ruby joined them at the table. Everyone was eating and the mood was fairly calm, until Henry dropped his spoon and jumped to his feet, running for the door. He flung it open and the siren herself fell through it, landing heavily on the floor. Completely unconscious.

Emma and David picked her up and laid her on the couch. She looked fine, her appearance was the same, except instead of brightly shining, her runes looked like silver paint on her skin. Emma saw a silver sort of ring around her neck, but when she tried to take it off, it was like it was one piece of metal with no breaks or connections. She left it alone, and ignored it as she shook Lorelei trying to wake her.

"Henry, how did you know?" Regina asked him as he stared at the siren on the couch.

"I'm not sure, one minute all I felt was her anger, and weakness, and then I felt nothing but weakness and a weird pull, towards the door." He shifted around nervously. "There's nothing now, just a weird, drifting feeling."

Regina squeezed his shoulder, trying to calm him, "it's probably because she is unconscious. When she wakes up we will find out exactly what happened to her and who did it." He nodded at her and sat in the chair to watch her.

Emma and Regina searched the town, but no one had seen Robin. No one had seen the siren, apparently she had been magicked to the loft door. The day passed, with no leads or hints. Henry stayed with Lorelei until night fell and he started falling asleep, Regina took him home and Emma stayed to keep an eye on Lorelei. She wasn't happy about it, she wanted to go home with her family and… well… catch up with Regina. But everyone seemed to agree that she needed to stay to control the siren if she woke up. Snow and David couldn't stop her magic, and Emma could at least poof to get Regina if she needed to. Red stayed too, and halfway through the night, she told Emma to go up to bed and she would keep an eye on Lorelei for awhile.

Lorelei never moved, just laid there, breathing steady and slow. Ruby just stared at her, trying to somehow mentally force her to wake up. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she carefully crept to sit on the edge of the couch, leaning over the strange woman. She very slowly moved the collar of her shirt to the side, she wanted to see where she had bit in to her shoulder, to see how bad it was. Her eyes widened in shock, the sirens shoulder was decorated in silver and black runes, but there was no bite or wound. Red leaned in very close to the skin, and when she looked closely, she could see tiny white scars between some of the runes. Tracing the scars, they outlined where the bite would have been. The runes were perfect and untouched, but between… She was so focused on examining the skin, she had pressed herself over the woman, leaning into her chest.

"I'm going to consider this foreplay…"

Ruby jumped so hard she landed on her butt on the floor beside the couch, the siren staring down at her from the couch. She tried to come up with words to explain why she was practically laying on top of her, pulling her shirt down, but only mumbled babbling came out.

Smiling, Lorelei closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "you smell nice. Not like a dog at all. It's nice."

Ruby felt herself blush and managed to speak finally, "uhm, thanks. I was looking at where I bit you, but there's not much there. I'm sorry, by the way. For attacking you, I mean. It wasn't entirely me though, I'm still figuring it out actually…"

The siren opened her eyes just a crack, the dim light in the room making her eyes shine for a moment. "No worries. If I had known then what I know now, I would have let it bleed. And, it wasn't you. The woman named Blue slipped you something to make your wolf bite me."

Ruby sat up, kneeling beside the sirens side. "What happened to you? Emma said you disappeared…"

Closing her eyes again, Lorelei sighed and told her, "I was convinced to donate a drop of my immortal blood. But I made them pay dearly for it."

She sighed and her breathing evened out as she fell quickly back to sleep. Red waited a few moments before quietly going upstairs, waking Emma and telling her… well almost everything. She saw no need to embarrass herself further by retelling the entire situation. Emma frowned in thought and told Red to keep an eye on her, she was going to wake Regina and tell her. When Red went back downstairs, Emma poofed herself directly into Regina's room. It was nearly four in the morning, and the brunette was asleep, laying on her side under her blankets. Emma found her mouth dry as she drug her eyes over every inch of the sleeping woman's form under the blanket. Instead of waking her, Emma put on her sleeping boxers and tank top and crawled under the blankets behind her, careful not to wake her. She wrapped herself around Regina, successfully becoming the big spoon without her waking. Within minutes, Emma was asleep too, she didn't even notice the smile on the older woman's lips.


	22. Chapter 22

**Two updates in one day, this is what happens when it's 3 degrees outside. I just sit and let my mind wander =)**

Chapter 22

Regina had been awake for a while, but she hadn't moved. She didn't want to awaken the softly snoring blonde wrapped up behind her. Emma had held on to her all morning, and Regina never wanted to move. Eventually, Emma shifted slightly and started kissing very lightly and slowly, starting by the top of her ear and working her way down to just below her jaw, finding a place that made Regina moan softly. Emma shivered at the sound and gently bit her ear lobe before soothing it with a kiss.

Regina smiled and rolled in Emma's arms, facing the smiling blonde. She pulled Emma in by the back of her neck and they spent plenty of time kissing and shifting their bodies to become impossibly closer to each other. When she felt a nip on her bottom lip, Regina eagerly opened her mouth to welcome Emma's tongue. This time it was Emma letting out a moan as she let her hands wander down to Regina's amazing butt. She had stared at that backside for so long, she already had it memorized. How many times she had dreamed about touching this woman? How many times had she stomped on her feelings for this woman?

Overwhelmed with emotions, Emma pulled away from Regina just enough to breath and stare into the brown eyes staring back at her. She could drown in those eyes and would smile every second. "Regina, I love you." When the other woman opened her mouth to reply, Emma put a finger on her lips smiling at the curious look she received. "I mean I really love you Regina. I always have and I always will. No matter what. And, actually, I want to marry you."

Regina blinked in surprise. She wanted to marry Emma, but she didn't really think it would happen so soon. "Emma, I love you too, but don't you think that's a bit soon?"

Emma kissed her softly before answering, "We have been dating for years, we just didn't admit it… So I think us getting married is actually over due."

A few of the happiest tears ever shed leaked from Regina's eyes as she looked at Emma. "You're an idiot Miss Swan, and I love you and I will happily marry you." She kissed Emma firmly then and as Emma attempted to move her hands dangerously lower, Regina pulled back and asked her, "when is the wedding?"

With a confused look, and impatience to continue her movements Emma shrugged, "I don't know, whenever I guess. I think we should figure that out later?" She pressed her mouth against Regina's again, but again Regina pulled back this time with a dark chuckle.

"Emma, your hands need to stay a little higher until the wedding…" Regina said as she tugged Emma's lowest hand back up to her lower back.

Jaw dropping in surprise Emma stammered, "Wha… what does that mean?!"

Giggling, Regina kissed her forehead before beginning to get out of bed. "It means that since I intend to marry you, I have decided we are taking the proper route. No sex until the wedding night, princess."

Emma shoved her face into a pillow and screamed, when she was done she pointed an accusing finger at Regina, "you never said that before! Why? I'm not really a princess, I'm a sheriff and you're a mayor. Remember that? When did this change?"

Regina couldn't help but smile at the whining woman, "Emma, last night your mother and I had a talk… and well, she wants this to be proper and done right."

Emma growled, "my mother is cock blocking me…"

Laughing loudly, Regina headed for the shower. Just before turning on the water she called out, "when is the wedding?"

"Ten minutes from now as soon as I find someone to officiate it!"

Regina laughed again, closing the bathroom door and taking a quick shower. She emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair to find Emma had left the room. Probably a good idea, considering Regina had come out in only a towel. She quickly dressed and did her makeup before heading to the kitchen to find Henry and Emma eating cereal.

"Emma, why are you here anyway? Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't you be watching the siren?"

Emma choked a little on her cereal and took a few moments to collect herself. "Oh my god, I forgot. She woke up, for a minute anyway."

Henry started asking a thousand questions as he sped around dropping his bowl in the sink and pulling his shoes on. Emma didn't really understand anything he said. "Henry, stop please. I can't understand anything you're saying. You were asleep, it was like four AM. She spoke to Red…" Emma quickly told the tale as they all gathered shoes and jackets. Before long, they were back at the loft. Henry bolted to the couch, but the siren was still asleep. He sat in the chair, staring intently at the sleeping woman. Red, David and Snow were all sitting at the table, apparently Neal was napping. Emma plopped down in a chair and glared at her mother. Regina snorted and slapped her playfully on the arm, taking a seat beside her.

"So then you decided to do it the right way?" Snow asked Regina.

"Yes Snow, after all the past you and I have, I have decided to let you have a proper wedding for your daughter. And, it will even be done as it should be. There will be no… intimacy… until the wedding night." Snow blinked and blushed a little, she didn't really want to talk about it. Regina waited until she looked back up, sipping at her tea, to add, "But we are taking a week long honeymoon to make up for lost time."

Snow choked on her tea and shook her head vigorously while mumbling something about porn. David was looking like he wanted to be deaf as he stared into his cup of coffee. Leaning over, Emma whispered to Regina, "are you going to torture them like this for the rest of our lives?"

Raising a brow, Regina whispered back, "consider it the dowry." Emma nodded and smiled as she got up to get herself some coffee.

They sat and talked for more than an hour, Neal woke up and they ate breakfast together. Red sat in front of the couch, leaning back against the siren's side. Henry sat in the chair, refusing to stop watching her. He wasn't going to miss her waking up again.

When she did wake up, Snow and David had headed to the store to pick up some groceries. Regina was holding Neal and Emma was making faces at him. Henry had dozed off in the chair, slumped over on the arm. The only one paying attention to her at all was Red, still leaning on the couch and her.

"Hey, looks like I got a guard dog…" Lorelei said quietly.

Smirking, Ruby turned so she could look at her, "wolf, not dog. I can remind you how much of a wolf I can be if you're feeling up to it."

Raising her brows Lorelei smiled back at her, "not just now, but if you have a water bowl you'd like to share I wouldn't say no."

Huffing in amusement, Ruby stood to go get water. Before walking away though, she nudged Henry to wake him up. He immediately sat up and then jumped to Lorelei's side. "Are you ok? What's wrong with you? Why are you so weak? What's around your neck?"

The siren frowned at him until he stopped for a breath before interrupting him, "shut it boy. I will explain some things when your mothers are around. I don't enjoy telling tales twice."

Henry ran over to where Emma and Regina were holding Neal, they saw she was awake but weren't feeling rushed. Henry rushed them, pulling at Emma and waving for Regina to hurry. When they were all close to the couch, Lorelei sat up properly and Ruby sat right next to her as she drank her water.

"Okay, story time, gather round kids." Lorelei scooted a few inches from Red, only to have the woman scoot back up beside her, then Henry sat on the other side, effectively blocking her onto the couch. With a disgruntled face, she gave up and started talking. "Well, I walked in to an arrow in my face and then this collar around my neck. This thing completely blocks my magic and weakens me more than I care to admit. I have tried getting it off, but no luck. It can stop me from speaking, or moving at all." At the confused looks she got, she held up her wrist where a silver bracelet was. "This, when worn by someone else, allows them to control me, to an extent. They couldn't make me do things, but they could make me immobile, and they could make me unable to speak. I don't know anything about it other than it pissed me off pretty good. Anyway, the man from the diner, Robin, he was yelling and carrying on about how I have destroyed Regina. He thinks I somehow made you two fall in love. He was also fairly pissed about you sending Zelena off to Oz. He made a deal with Rumple, he puts this thing on my neck and in return he gets a spell that will take him and his kids to Oz to be with Zelena. Rumple told him all about it, he pretended not to know the other night, giving you a chance to confess, Regina but since you didn't he went psycho. So, he tells me to use the spell, he needs a drop of my blood. He had planned on getting it from me when Red attacked me, but it's not that easy. I told him no and he began threatening Henry."

Regina gripped the couch until her knuckles turned white, "He threatened Henry? I can't believe he would have the nerve."

Taking another sip of water, Lorelei nodded, "Yeah, he snapped pretty hard, don't blame him too much. He caught the connection between Henry and I, and he used him as leverage. Eventually, I decided to give him a drop of blood because I was getting bored." Henry rolled his eyes at that, he knew she had protected him. "I made him make a deal to release me from this lovely jewelry on my neck but he didn't know how to. He was actually telling the truth as it turns out. See, I made him give me the bracelet after I gave him the blood and before he and his men could get away, I killed the three men, attempting to force him into removing it. He really couldn't" She shrugged, "well I apologized but he was the fool who thought I would be helpless without my magic. I haven't lived a kerbillion years without acquiring strength and skills that have nothing to do with my magic. Once I had this bracelet, well I was able to do as I pleased."

"How did you get to the loft without your magic, no one saw you." Henry asked.

The siren smiled in a very dark manner as she told them, "While leaving the place I was in, I stumbled across a woman I had glimpsed at the diner. I agreed to stop squeezing her throat if she sent me here."

Regina chuckled darkly, "I would have paid to see Blue turn blue."

"Wait… you didn't know we would be here, why didn't you head to the mansion?" Emma asked.

Lorelei pursed her lips and shrugged while becoming very interested in her cup of water. Henry bit his cheek to hold in the laugh. She was feeling embarrassed and shy… and he decided to push just a little to find out why. "I know why." He said. Lorelei glared at him, if he could read her…. "You were really weak, about to drop. So, you came to the loft because that's where we sent Red." He studied her emotions flickering for a moment and nodded to himself. And then he decided to not share her secret fascination with the werewolf. "You figured since we sent one really hurt person here, you could find help here."

Lorelei sighed seeing right through the boy and silently swearing to smack him later, "yes, I figured this must be the recovery place. So I came here." She cleared her throat and shifted nervously before changing the subject away from her self, "anyway, Robin will be on his way to Oz soon, if he hasn't left already."

Regina straightened and handed Neal off to Henry, "You stay here and watch Neal. Emma, you and I are going to find Robin if he is still here."

"Why? I say bon voyage forest boy." Emma crossed her arms on her chest.

"Firstly, I need to make him regret threatening my son. Secondly, we need to stop him from getting himself killed by going to Oz." Regina pushed Emma toward the door.

Henry sat with Neal, he wanted to go, but he didn't think Lorelei was strong enough to go and he didn't want to leave her. Red was sitting sideways, leaning on her arm that was propped on the back of the couch, staring at the siren. Lorelei was intently focused on the walls, and her cup, and the ceiling. Basically anything but Ruby.

Emma and Regina left the loft and headed for the forest. On the way they passed the Charmings and explained briefly what was going on. Snow and David headed for the loft and the two women continued for the forest. They made it to the camp before long and immediately realized it was empty. They searched around a while and decided that the camp had been abandoned for most of the day already. With a shrug, they wandered around a bit more, but it appeared Robin, his children and his men were gone. After a quick discussion, they decided to check in on Blue to see if she could remove the necklace from the siren.

It didn't take long for the fairy to deny knowing anything about the necklace and Emma was inclined to believe her, especially after Regina threatened to burn the entire building down and the fairy still denied knowing. They called it quits after a few hours of searching and asking, heading to the diner for some dinner. It was around five so they called and had everyone meet them there.

Emma and Regina sat in a booth across from each other, talking and smiling until everyone showed up. Emma switched to sitting beside Regina, Snow and David took the other side and Neal sat in Snow's lap, Henry pulling up a chair. Looking around, Emma asked "Where's Lorelei, and Red?"

Henry giggled when he answered, "Lorelei wanted to come too, but Red said she was still recovering. When she tried to get up and follow us anyway, Red pushed her back on the couch and sat on her. She told her when she could over power a werewolf, she could call herself recovered." He kept giggling as the waitress took their orders.

After ordering, Emma laughed imagining the siren being forced to do anything, "I bet she is just boiling to get out of that collar."

Henry frowned, looking confused and said, "actually she looked mad, but she didn't feel mad. Like, she almost seemed amused, but I'm not very good at understanding the emotions really. And they go by so fast and so many at a time, it's really confusing."

Regina squeezed just above Emma's knee and when the blonde leaned in she whispered, "I think the siren has a secret crush…"

Emma shivered at the feeling of Regina whispering against her ear before responding to Henry, "uhm, what's going on with that emotions thing right now?"

Henry frowned and concentrated before answering, "I'm not real sure, it's sort of like amusement, but mixed with some sort of heat…"

"Henry, I suggest you find a way to block the emotional flow… When you start figuring things out you're going to wish you had learned sooner." Regina told him, before whispering for only Emma to hear, "and you are going to want to burn the sheets on your bed."

Emma frowned at her, and then when the light of understanding flicked on she squeezed her eyes shut and swore under her breath.

Regina laughed as she was reminded she needed to buy a new desk for the mayor's office also. Some images couldn't be unseen, but she didn't need the desk bringing them back for her. They enjoyed dinner and everyone was smiling and just enjoying each other's company until it got late and everyone needed to head home. Regina and Emma took Henry to the mansion and got home just in time for Snow to call them, explaining that if they needed Lorelei or Red, they had been forced out of the loft and were last seen headed to the inn.

Henry still hadn't quite caught on to the situation and just shrugged, assuming Lorelei had annoyed Snow and David so Red had offered a room at the inn. He headed to bed and the two women decided to head to bed also. After no small amount of whining, Regina had given in and let Emma sleep next to her, as long as she kept her hands to herself. This wedding needed to happen very soon, because Regina felt her convictions and promises fading quickly as Emma wrapped her arms and entire body around her before falling asleep.

"I love you Regina…" Emma mumbled against her neck.

Regina smiled and bit her lip before responding, "I love you too Emma…" She pushed back against Emma slightly, hearing a small noise come from Emma.

"You know, what my mother doesn't know won't hurt her…" Emma mumbled as she kissed Regina's ear lobe.

Chuckling and pulling Emma's arms tighter around herself Regina sighed, "I am going to marry you properly Emma. And if we do it properly, I promise to make it well worth the wait…" Emma made a half moan half whine noise before snuggling her face in Regina's hair and finally relaxing in to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Lorelei stood, leaning against the window frame in the small room. It was just before dawn and she should be sleeping. She felt weak still. But her mind wasn't letting her rest, no matter how much she had just worked herself towards exhaustion. She let her eyes drift back to the woman sleeping under a thin blanket on the bed. Her dark brown hair was scattered over the pillows in a haphazard manner that made Lorelei smile. She wasn't entirely sure how she let this happen. When she saw this woman, well when she saw the wolf lunging at her, she was caught completely by surprise. She had let everyone assume the surprise was because of the speed the wolf had collided into her with. That was only part of the problem. The moment she laid eyes on the wolf, that one part of her that has always intrigued her sprung to life. A long time ago, she had those threads coming from herself. When she gained that ability, she knew the black thread hanging was the love she had lost for Hades. But this thread, this one thicker white thread had hung from her heart for so many centuries, she assumed it would never be found. But then she looked into the eyes of a wolf… She had been in shock when that one thick line shot out to meet with the chest of a wolf.

She picked up a cup of water she had gotten earlier, taking a sip she resumed looking out the window. She had one dead line, hanging there, black. She had one thin white thread, shooting off to the side, leading to that ridiculous little boy. And she had one thicker white line, running to a tangled mound of blankets on the bed. She sipped her water again, she could almost wish this necklace stopped her senses too. She almost wished she could make these lines vanish. She had no desire to find a true love. She didn't want a true love. She had been ignoring this thread for a long time. When she found Cora, a thin white thread had come to be, and she was fine with that. When she destroyed Cora, that thread disappeared, the way they do when you lose a loved one. Then just the dead true love, and undiscovered true love remained.

Grimacing, she set the cup on the small table by the window and sifted through the mess of blankets, sorting them out and covering the sleeping woman properly. Once everything had been arranged, the siren slid under the blankets. She attempted to keep a small space between herself and the woman; she didn't need to encourage any more attachment from herself or her. Unfortunately, this woman didn't get the memo and immediately moved to rest her head on Lorelei's shoulder, one arm draped across her stomach. Lorelei considered moving her, but the womans leg had found its way over top of one of hers and she was trapped. Giving in to her tiredness, she stroked the womans back with her right hand, and pushed the hair off her face with her left hand.

She smiled down at her when the hair was tucked behind her ear. She was intoxicatingly beautiful…

"Stop staring at me and go to sleep… " she mumbled.

In spite of herself, Lorelei grinned broadly, "I will do what I wish woman."

"Oh, now I'm back to being 'woman'. An hour ago you knew my name, in fact I think the entire town knows my name the way you screamed it…"

Lorelei kissed the top of her head and whispered, "Go to sleep, Ruby." She felt the woman smile against her chest as she snuggled in deeper, sighing heavily before relaxing and falling asleep. Lorelei stared down at her for several more minutes before she finally closed her eyes and let herself drift to sleep.

Henry was tossing and turning all night. Somewhere around three in the morning he woke up entirely, the emotions pouring from the siren were insane. He couldn't decipher a single one and they whirled through like a hurricane. He was exhausted and hadn't gotten a solid hour of sleep all night because of this. He was tired and so he focused that energy in his chest and imagined kinking the flow of emotions, like a garden hose. He was shocked to find it worked. He could feel the whirlwind, but it was distant, and quiet. He could ignore it. He flopped back on his bed and was immediately asleep.

Emma woke up just after eight in the morning and had crept out of bed and in to the shower. She had a few… issues to take care of thanks to madam mayor pushing against her hips half the night. She didn't have to try for very long, as soon as she closed her eyes and concentrated on Regina it was only a matter of minutes before she was clenching her jaw and gripping the shelf in the shower to keep herself quiet and from collapsing in her release. She still had a lot of pent up frustration, but for now, it would have to do. She finished her shower and stepped out to dry her hair.

Regina had been awoken by the sound of the shower coming on. She had decided to just peek in, justifying this by convincing herself she should make sure it wasn't that damned siren. She cracked the door open just enough to see in, and immediately praised herself for choosing a clear shower door. She couldn't peel her eyes off Emma as the woman stood with her eyes shut tightly, one hand gripping the shower shelf, and the other… Regina felt every last drop of control she had disappear and her own hand slid past the hem of her pajama pants. It didn't take very long for her to push herself over the edge, not after the way Emma had pushed against her back with her chest all night. She heard Emma gasp and bit her own lip to keep the sound in. She took just a moment to make sure her knees were going to hold her before she silently slipped the door closed and went to the bathroom down the hall to quickly wash up before dressing herself with magic. She would have dressed in her closet but when she came back Emma was in the bedroom, back towards the door.

As the last speck of purple magic vanished, Emma turned to find Regina dressed in one of her tight skirts and blouses. "Wow…"

Regina crossed the space to wrap her arms around the woman and kissed her softly, smiling. "What?"

"You are absolutely the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Emma kissed her and pressed herself against the lovely brunette.

Regina took a few moments to appreciate the woman pressed against her before pulling away slightly to look her in the eye. "Are you ready to get back to work, sheriff?"

Emma pulled a face and stuck her lip out in a pout. "Regina, we've been gone two weeks. We really didn't leave anyone in charge. I do not want to imagine the mountains of work that needs to be done."

Laughing, Regina nodded, "Yes, and I expect the paperwork by the end of the week dear."

Emma gaped at her as she walked out, going to wake Henry. Paperwork? She shouldn't have to do paperwork if she is engaged to the mayor. It's ridiculous.

Regina knocked on Henry's door and walked in when no answer came. Henry was laying half sideways on his bed, snoring. She smiled at him before calling his name and shaking him slightly. He eventually roused and lifted his heavy eye lids to look at her. "Mom… I'm so tired. You were right… I figured out how to block the emotions… but not until like 3 am. "

She smiled at him, "you're lucky it's Saturday. But on Monday you're going back to school." She kissed the top of his head and before she left she told him, "There is cereal and sandwich stuff in the fridge or you can go down to Granny's. Emma and I are headed to work. I will let you stay home, but text me when you wake up. And tell me if you leave the house. And…"

"Mom. I will text you every ten minutes. I love you. Have a good day." He had closed his eyes half way through her words.

She smiled at him, "okay. We love you too."

She closed his door and headed to the kitchen to find Emma making coffee. She raked her eyes down the woman's body for a few moments before pressing up against her back and whispering "I love you" in her ear. She took the offered cup of coffee and gave a quick kiss for a thank you before sitting at the island.

Emma got herself a cup and leaned on the counter as she watched Regina sipping her coffee. "So, about this paperwork…"

Regina smiled at her and shook her head, "No excuses Miss Swan. And it had better be done correctly too. No shortcuts or coffee stains."

Rolling her eyes she sipped her coffee before responding, "I should get a break, at least an extra week."

"Oh really? And what makes you so special?"

Emma smiled wide and walked around to whisper in her ear, "I should get an extra week for letting you watch me shower…" She poofed herself to where she had parked her bug two weeks ago before Regina recovered from choking on her sip of coffee.

After taking a few minutes to collect herself and for her intense blush to fade, Regina magicked herself to the mayors office.

Henry woke up at about 1045, still groggy but hungry enough to keep himself awake. He stumbled through a quick shower and poked around the kitchen, deciding he didn't want cereal or a sandwich. He got dressed, remembering to text his mom at some point telling her he was headed to Grannys for lunch. She said if he stayed there until about one she would meet him there. He agreed and invited Emma too.

When he got to the diner, he took a seat at a booth ordering just a soda while he waited for his moms. They should be there in thirty minutes so he decided to find Lorelei while he waited. He saw Granny racing around behind the counter and when she stopped he walked up and asked if she had seen the siren.

"No, Henry I have not. Would you like to guess who else I haven't seen? Ruby. It's getting into lunch rush and she was supposed to be here two hours ago." She looked at him with a considering look then before speaking again, "Henry, I may regret this, but if you're looking for Lorelei… Try room 14." He turned to head for the rooms in the inn as she called out to him, "and for the love of god, knock first!"

He waved back to her and raced to room 14. He remembered the kinked hose of emotions and opened it back up. There was just a sort of drifting feeling that he remembered from when she was sleeping, so he assumed she was sleeping now. He got to the door and knocked loudly. He smiled when he felt surprise and irritation come through the connection. He waited for several moments hearing several muffled noises and a shouted "hang on" from someone.

Eventually, Red opened the door, her hair was a tangled disaster and she was wearing the same clothing as yesterday except her shirt was inside out and backwards. Her makeup was a disaster equal to her hair. "Henry… hi. Did Granny send you?" She squinted at him as if she hadn't slept much.

Henry finally realized what was going on here and he blushed furiously as he stared down at the floor. "Uhm, yeah. Apparently you're really late? And, I was wondering if Lorelei were here?" He silently hoped she wasn't.

"Great…" Red sighed and led her head hit the door frame with a thud. "She's here, but she just got in the shower sooo…"

Henry nodded quickly and turned to go rushing words out as he fled, "Just let her know I will be at the diner please." He heard the door close and raced back to his soda.

Red leaned against the door, scrubbing a hand across her face. She had slept maybe an hour since yesterday morning. Not that she was complaining, the time had been very well spent. Speaking of which… She licked her lips and slipped into the bathroom, quickly removing her hastily thrown on clothes and stepping in the shower behind Lorelei. The way the water rolled down her silver and black runes was intoxicating. The siren was just standing with the hot water flowing over her chest and head. Red drug her nails softly down the womans back, smiling as she shivered from the contact.

"How are you still standing? I have slept with women who could not handle half of what we've done… And they were already dead." The siren turned to look at her, she was slightly taller and that was usually irritating, but she found she didn't mind this woman being taller. Just a little taller, she was going to start wearing bigger boots though…

Laughing, Red wrapped her arms around the sirens neck, pulling her in close. "How many of those women were werewolves?" She cocked a brow as she stared into those intense silver eyes.

Lorelei nodded slightly, "none. In fact, I have never come across a wolf woman. I look forward to exploring your abilities further." She had put her hands on Reds hips and squeezed gently, watching her eyes darken with want. She smirked playfully as she captured the womans lower lip in her teeth. She bit down roughly on the lip, still fascinated at how much this woman could handle. They had not been gentle throughout the night, but this woman healed almost as quickly as she did. Then again, she was healing much more slowly than she usually did…

Sighing, she kissed the tall dark beauty one more time before slapping her bottom and exiting the shower. "I heard the boy asking after me. I should see what he wants."

"I think it's cute, Henry doesn't have a lot of friends."

Scoffing at the remark Lorelei scrubbed her head with a towel before responding, "it is not cute, woman. It is irritating. I'm not a babysitter. He needs to go play with the other children, instead of following me around."

Red laughed as she finished washing and stepped out of the shower, taking the towel from Lorelei. "Bull shit. You love the kid and you know it."

Lorelei shivered slightly from the cold, she was still dripping and this woman just stole her towel. She glared at her before grabbing another towel for herself. "I have a connection with him. An unintentional connection, mind you."

"Uh huh, and instead of staying here and exploring my abilities further, you are rushing off to meet him at the diner."

She finished drying and threw her towel at Red, who immediately wrapped her hair in it. She began picking thru the room, finding her scattered clothing. She was investigating the clothing, but they were dirty from a few days of wear. Red came out of the bathroom and laughed, taking the dirty clothes from her and tossing them in a basket in the corner. "This is my actual home, my clothes are in the closet. There should be something to fit you. If you dig deep enough, you should."

Lorelei went to the closet and found a lot of things she couldn't even decide how to wear. "Ruby, I hate to be more of a bother, but I don't know what the hell most of these things are."

Ruby laughed and finished drying herself, leaving her hair in the towel for now until she could blow dry it. She dropped the other towel and began sifting through the closet. Lorelei stood back, watching her bent over in all her glory. She was focused on the naked body intently enough that she jumped when several garments hit her in the face. She threw them to the bed and glared at the woman.

With a wolfish grin, Ruby nipped at her ear before going to resume her hair drying. "Try those, if you need a belt, let me know."

Lorelei took a deep breath before inspecting the clothing. She decided the t-shirt and jeans were acceptable. Socks, fine. However, this underwear and bra law was quickly becoming her least favorite thing. She actually fell over struggling to get the stretchy bra material over her head and on her arms. Ruby was trying very hard not to laugh as she helped her turn it around and put it on correctly. "Let me guess, you've never worn a sports bra before?"

"Why the fuck would I?"

"Well, I'm sorry. We will go get you some clothes of your own later, when I get off work. Promise. For now, this is the only one I have that will fit you. I'm a bit, well, bigger than you."

When she finished she went back to drying her hair again and Lorelei managed to get the rest of her clothing on without much issue. She wanted her magic back. This was ridiculous. She got her shoes on, they were actually Emma's shoes. They didn't fit right either. She growled to herself as she tied them. Fortunately, it took her so long to wrestle into the clothes, Ruby was done getting dressed and ready by the time she was. Ruby held a hand out to help Lorelei up from sitting on the bed, as soon as the siren stood, the jeans slid down her hips and she tugged them back up.

Laughing again, Ruby went and got a belt for her and helped put it on. "I cannot watch you pulling your pants up all day. This wouldn't happen if you had more of an ass you know."

"Are you saying you don't like my ass?"

"Hell no, I love it. But mine is better." Ruby smirked and kissed her firmly before turning and leading out the door. The siren mentally agreed and following the wonderful sight out the door.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Lorelei followed Ruby to the diner, walking instead of running as she was. Ruby dashed in the diner and immediately began working quickly while Granny berated her for being so late. Lorelei wandered over to where Henry sat, pretending she just happened to feel like sitting there. It had nothing to do with him, of course, she just wanted to sit in that spot exactly.

She sat across from him, raising a brow in question. "Good morning, well afternoon I guess." He smiled at her and when she didn't respond he went on, "so my moms will be here soon. You can eat with us if you want to."

"Yes, I suppose I will. I need them to pay for my meal. Speaking of which, how would you recommend I get money of my own? I can't simply magic some up so I am at a loss."

Henry frowned in thought, he didn't know what she could do so he really didn't want to just tell her to get a job. "Well, what are you good at?"

She smiled in a lopsided way and stared pointedly at Ruby who was dashing around the diner. "I don't think she can afford to pay me…"

"Really? That's your answer? Gross." He shifted around uncomfortably before trying again. "Can you build things? Can you cook? Uhm, oh! You're strong, and fast, maybe you could be a deputy with Emma at the station?"

Lorelei frowned at him and was going to reject every offensive thing he just asked her but Emma interrupted, "hell no. No way is she ever coming to the station unless it's in cuffs."

Lorelei chuckled and winked at her, "Maybe later sheriff."

Emma grabbed Henry's sleeve and pulled him out of the seat, pushing him to sit next to Lorelei instead. "She's your friend, you sit by her."

Henry smiled at the siren before plopping down next to her frowning down at him. "I was saving this seat for Regina, she likes to cuddle…"

Emma kicked her under the table as Regina sat down next to Emma, "I would say in your dreams but you couldn't handle me there either." Regina told her before kissing Emma lightly.

The siren pushed at Henry, trying to make him move so she could leave, but he didn't budge so she just sat back and closed her eyes… She really should have slept more. Apparently no magic meant she needed sleep more often. She kept her eyes closed until she heard Ruby's beautiful voice, "okay, sorry it took a minute to get over here, what does everyone want?"

As everyone ordered, Lorelei focused on Ruby's outfit. It was tight, very tight. And so very short. She was so busy raking her eyes over the woman Henry had to say her name three times and finally elbowed her to get her attention. "Lorelei, order something!"

She cleared her throat that was unusually dry, "Yes, uhm, pie please. Any kind, just the whole pie. And a soda, but not root beer, I already tried that."

Ruby shook her head no, "order real food, then you can have a piece of pie."

Henry laughed and Emma and Regina traded knowing glances. Lorelei however, was not amused. "Woman, I want a pie. That is what I am going to eat. Bring me a pie."

Ruby nodded, writing on her paper before putting it in her pocket and saying, "ok, so the turkey club sandwich and a coke. Got it." She turned and raced off as Lorelei opened her mouth to argue. She snapped her teeth together and growled at the departing waitress.

A different woman brought the drinks out in a few minutes and everyone sat quietly sipping their drinks. Regina then turned to Emma, "what were we fighting about before I got here?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "well, your son, thought Lorelei should work at the station with me."

"My son? I thought we agreed when he had bad ideas he was your son?" Regina smiled at Henry and added, "when he is being his usual genius self, he is my son."

Henry gave her a lopsided grin, "yeah it was a bad idea, but she needs a job. She needs money but I don't know what she can do."

Lorelei closed her eyes and rested her head against the window. This conversation was stupid. She wasn't getting a job. She needed to get her magic back.

"Well, she could be an exterminator. She would just have to stare at pests and they would get creeped out and wander off…" Emma suggested with a serious face.

Regina laughed a little but then took on a more serious mannerism. "Actually Henry, you're right. She needs something to do or she is going to start causing trouble. Even Miss Lucas won't be able to keep her in check for too long I think."

They continued debating the sirens future until the food arrived. Ruby sat all the plates down and when Lorelei didn't stir, she reached over and tugged her hair gently, making her open her eyes in a dazed way before sitting up properly. "No sleeping. I have to run around working my ass off with no sleep, no way you're getting to rest until I get off work."

Lorelei frowned hard at the woman before she rushed away. "She acts like it's my fault she's tired." Mumbling to herself, she poked at the sandwich in front of her. She picked it apart and ate the bacon, tasting the rest and quickly deciding it was disgusting. The bacon was alright though. "This is horrible, who would eat this?"

Henry gestured to the eggs on his plate, "try the eggs. I put pepper on them and they're pretty good."

Lorelei reached over and was going to grab some eggs but Regina slapped her hand back away, "Lorelei, use a fork. Your hands are probably covered in filth. I'm not going to let you get him sick."

Glaring at her, Lorelei took her fork awkwardly and stabbed some eggs. She chewed them for a few moments then got a larger portion of his eggs and ate them too. She kept this up until they were gone. "Okay, so now we know you like bacon and eggs. That's a pretty good meal, so next time order that." Henry smiled at her.

Nodding, she tried his hashbrowns, which she hated. She tried to taste Emma's biscuit but was nearly impaled. "I am trying to broaden my eating horizons." She reached for them again and this time she did get a little stabbed by Emma's fork. "Ow! Damn it Emma."

"Look," Emma said around the food in her mouth, "Just because Henry wants to feed the stray animals, doesn't mean I do. Stay away from my food."

"I will stab you also, so do not attempt it." Regina pointed her own fork at the siren before continuing her meal.

Dropping her fork onto the table she nudged Henry with her elbow, "thank you, your meal was delightful. Would you like to go shopping with me? I need to buy clothing." She had no idea where to buy clothes or what looked normal here so she would need help. Since Henry was the only person who could stand her company, he got the job.

Henry beamed back at her, "Yeah! I know the perfect store. It's where I buy my clothes."

Regina shook her head quickly jumping in, "No, absolutely not Henry. You do not need to be hanging out with her. She can go get her own clothes."

Emma pursed her lips in thought, "how are you going to buy clothes? And isn't that store only for boys and mens clothing Henry?"

Henry rolled his eyes, "you guys can loan her some money, she will give it back after she gets a job." Lorelei's brows climbed higher as he spoke. "and yes it's mens clothes, but she would look stupid in skinny jeans and a blouse."

"Woah, back the train up boy. I am not getting a job. I will simply tell the salesperson to give me the clothing and I will pay them later after I have my magic back." She waved her hand at him to dismiss his ridiculous ideas.

Emma snorted, "Okay, first of all, you will pay money today for clothes. Secondly, I will loan you the money until you get a job to pay, just in case your magic doesn't come back. And finally, Henry, boy clothes would probably suit her better on the outside, but you gotta remember the underwear thing too. She can't buy bras at the mens store."

Regina nodded, looking reluctant, "Yes, we will give her money for now. Take her to the womens shop first, to get her undergarments. Then, if she must, take her to the mens store for clothing."

Regina and Emma stood, putting money down for the food bill and Regina handed Henry her credit card. "Now, make sure she doesn't look stupid please. And do not spend too much." She kissed his head as he hugged her and then he gave Emma a hug as she messed up his hair.

Lorelei rolled her eyes and grabbed his shirt, pushing him towards the door. They left and started towards the womens store first.

Regina pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes tightly, "I do not like him being around that creature."

Emma smiled and pulled the woman into a tight hug, squeezing until Regina relaxed and wrapped her arms around Emma, hugging her back tightly. "I know, but he is connected to her and we really can't keep him away from her. Who knows? Maybe he will have a positive effect on her?"

Chuckling darkly, Regina pulled back and began straightening her blouse and skirt, "or maybe she will get him hooked on cocaine and strippers."

Emma laughed, "well at least if that happens, his mothers can keep him out of prison." She kissed the frowning brunette and turned them towards the door.

Ruby came rushing up to them looking irritated, "where the hell did she go?"

Emma gave her a curious look before answering, "if you mean Lorelei, she went with Henry to buy some clothes."

Ruby actually growled, looking out the door. Regina sighed heavily and told Emma, "dear, I need to get back to the office. Why don't you take a few minutes and explain to Miss Lucas what she has attached herself to?" Emma nodded reluctantly and took a seat at the bar top so Ruby could work and talk at the same time while Regina left.

"Okay. Here's the thing Rubes, Lorelei isn't really a stable person to be around." Emma tried to be nice, considering Ruby was obviously upset that the siren had just left without a word to her. "You're not actually thinking to make a girlfriend out of her are you?"

Ruby glared at Emma, "You don't understand Emma. She is not just some girl that I want to hook up with. She's my soul mate."

Emma's brows shot up, eyes wide in shock, "wow. Okay, uhm, don't you think maybe it's a bit soon to be getting that intense? I mean you guys have spent one night together and like, I doubt you spent much of that time talking…"

Ruby rolled her eyes and tried to calm herself down a bit, "Sometimes I forget how little you know Emma, I'm sorry. At some point in their lives, wolves find a mate. No matter how many other partners they've had, when they find that one mate, that one other wolf, they know, Emma. It's like, a solid connection when all the others are water. And when they find that one soulmate, no others can ever compare. The second I looked into her eyes, I mean yeah I was spelled and trying to kill her, but even through that, the second I locked eyes with her, I knew she was my soul mate. It was like a chain suddenly connected my heart to hers. I couldn't walk away from her even if I actually wanted to. And then, she just like, walks out of here. She didn't say bye or see you later or any fucking thing."

Emma held her hands up to grab Rubys and when she finally caught them she made hushing sounds to soothe the woman. She had finished talking in a borderline hysterical rush. Emma frowned then, after she processed everything she had said. The thing she said about the chain on her heart, that sounded an awful lot like the true love lines Lorelei could see. "Okay, for starters, calm down a few notches." Emma waited until the waitress took a couple deep breaths before continuing, releasing her hands. "Okay, here's the thing Rubes, Lorelei isn't a wolf. She isn't even entirely human, I think. She's a magical creature and well…" Emma licked her lips attempting to find a good way to put it… she failed so decided to just say it, "she's a total tramp." She shrugged when Ruby glared at her, "What? I'm sorry but she flirts with anything female, her last relationship… type… thing, was with Cora Mills for god's sake."

"She told me that actually. I asked her if she was seeing anybody, she said she was seeing Cora but then she absorbed her…" Ruby grimaced, it reminded her of Peter. "And she said that she has had millions of women in her bed before that. Doesn't really sound too terrible when you consider she has been alive since like the beginning of time…"

Emma shrugged, "sure… okay. Well, you kind of gotta consider she may not have any idea what the whole monogamy thing is… I mean, I'm pretty sure she is accustomed to just, you know, doing whatever she wants… or whoever…" Emma was incredibly uncomfortable trying to tell her friend that her 'soul mate' is a bed hopper who had no chance of staying with one woman for more than about three hours.

Ruby sighed and patted Emma's shoulder, "Ok Emma, I see we have different ideas about what Lorelei is capable of" Laughing she picked up a stack of plates and told her, "you should get back to sheriffing, I've heard there's a siren running around out there ya know…" She winked before heading back into the kitchen. Emma sighed and nearly bolted for the door. Next time, she though, Regina was doing the talking.

Lorelei followed Henry to a little shop that had dresses and skirts in the window display. When they went in, a round little woman rushed up to them, "Henry! What on earth brings you here today?"

Henry smiled and gave the woman a hug. "Hi Mrs Plum. This is Lorelei, she needs… uhm… underwear, and stuff."

Mrs Plum looked Lorelei up and down smiling the whole time, "not a problem sweetheart. Am I correct in assuming she will be getting her clothing from Mr Plum?"

"Yep. She would look stupid in a dress." Henry nudged the siren with an elbow.

Lorelei just raised a brow as she scanned the clothing around the shop. "Can we get this over with please?"

Mrs Plum didn't seem phased by Lorelei's attitude in the least. She smiled and took Lorelei by the arm, ushering her into the back of the store behind a door that she closed. Henry chewed his lip in nervousness. He could tell she was tired, and irritated. He just hoped she didn't go crazy and decide to start breaking things or something crazy. After about fifteen minutes, Mrs Plum came back to Henry holding a piece of paper.

Handing Henry the paper that had several measurements and sizes on it she told him, "Henry, dear, why don't you go next door and buy her clothing while you wait?"

Henry took the paper but was confused, "shouldn't I wait for her? I mean she should probably pick them out and try them on right?"

Mrs Plum flashed a large smile before turning him towards the door and telling him, "she has a bit of an attitude and I don't think Mr Plum needs that kind of stress in his life. So, you go get several jeans and shirts and maybe shoes also, I wrote down her sizes to give to him and I will help her over here… where no one will see… or have to deal with…"

Henry left and went next door, he gave the paper to Mr Plum and together they found a few different styles of jeans and shirts as well as three different shoes. He thanked Mr Plum and took his pile back to Mrs Plum. He waited for her to see him and she came and got the clothes. When all was said and done, Henry made three more trips to the other store, swapping out clothing with instructions from Mrs Plum.

After two hours of this, Lorelei finally emerged from the back room. She felt extremely irritated and completely done with shopping. She had decided on one style of what was called bootcut slim jeans. They seemed tight enough around the top, but loose on her legs. The bottoms fit magnificently over the black boots she had chosen. They had enough heel on them that she should stand level with Ruby and they looked badass too. The shirts she had argued the most about. Most of them were too tight on her neck, she already had to wear this collar, there was no need to add to that.

Eventually she found a few v-necks she was willing to tolerate. Mrs Plum had found plenty of the boy shorts underwear for her, they were better than anything else the siren saw. The Bras were actually the easiest part to collect. Mrs Plum knew exactly what Lorelei would tolerate and had found a handful of thin material, front clasp style ones that weren't too difficult or tight.

Storming out of the shop, Henry asked, "where's all your stuff?"

Lorelei was wearing all new clothes, down to the boots, but she didn't have any bags. She also didn't bother answering the boy. She was beyond irritated and very much done shopping. Mrs Plum told Henry, "I am going to have all of her things bagged up and taken to the inn. I will have Granny open the door to room 14 and they will be there when she returns." She smiled and ushered Henry out the door. She was still smiling, but it looked a bit strained at this point so Henry hurried out after the siren who was walking very quickly down the street.

"Hey, wait for me." Henry caught up to her, almost jogging to keep up. "Where are you going anyway?"

The siren slowed a little, seeing he was having trouble keeping up. "I can feel a siren, down by the water. She has been waiting for a little while, I am eager to hear what she has to say."

Henry nodded and they walked quickly to the shoreline. When they got there, Henry could see a golden winged woman standing ankle deep in the water. He noticed two guys standing not too far away, but they didn't seem to notice the golden woman. "Can they see her?"

Lorelei glanced at the men, "no, she is like a spirit when she is here, but she can't leave the water. She could make herself seen, but it would be tiresome and she has a long trip back to the underworld from here." She walked to the edge of the water, not wanting to get her shoes wet. The siren was smiling and waved at Henry, he waved back, earning himself a weird look from the bystanders. Lorelei stood looking out like she was simply looking at the horizon.

The golden siren was speaking quickly, Henry couldn't hear her, but assumed Lorelei could by her nods. Eventually the siren waved again and threw herself back into the waves, quickly vanishing under the water. Henry followed Lorelei as she walked away, a slight frown on her face. "Rumple is staying where I put him… I assumed he would do as he wished once I had this collar on me." She was obviously thinking hard on the matter. "Maybe he just wanted me to stay here. He must have realized my sirens could still kick his ass even without me around." She shrugged and glanced around. "What is that sound?"

Henry looked around, he didn't hear anything. "I don't know, I can't hear it…" He had a thought and before he could think it through, he said it. "Maybe you hear the music from the rabbit hole?" He shut his mouth with an audible click. He desperately wished this was one of those times she chose to ignore him…

Her eyes widened and she stare at him intently, "music from the rabbit hole hmm? Henry, you know I enjoy music, that would certainly cheer me up… where is this place?"

He knew there was no way this would end well, but he couldn't take it back now so he just pointed up a street and followed her to the doors where he said, "you really shouldn't go in there Lorelei. And I can't go in, it's 21 and over."

The siren was already nodding to the beat of the music coming from inside, she looked at him and winked, "sorry boy, but I'm thinking this is a very good idea." At that she strutted right in to the bar.

Henry sighed and considered heading back to Grannys. It was going to be dark in an hour or so, and he did not want to be sitting out here in the dark. Besides, he really doubted the siren would ever leave the place once she discovered liquor, women and music were all in there. He was about to head away when he got a text message. It was from Regina:

Mom: I am headed home, do you need a ride?

Henry suddenly laughed maniacally as the idea hit him, so he answered hurriedly:

Henry: No, I'm good. I will probably be home late.

Mom: No you will not, where are you?

Henry: I'm with Lorelei.

Mom: Henry Daniel Mills, where are you?

Henry: The rabbit hole.

He waited for the crazy mother reply, but after two minutes, he shrugged, putting his phone away. That was when he heard the siren on the sheriffs cruiser start up. He sat on the curb, laughing an evil chuckle as he texted Ruby:

Henry: Hey, Lorelei wanted me to tell you she wasn't going back to your place tonight.

Ruby: Where is she?

Henry: I'm not sure, last I saw she was headed into the rabbit hole with some blonde girl.

He put his phone away, it wouldn't be long now. Emma was swinging the cruiser around the corner, he was going to be taken home, Emma would probably come back to drag the siren out for bringing him here and Ruby would get Lorelei to leave. He smiled as the cruiser stopped just in front of him and he heard someone in what he knew were red heels running up the sidewalk.

 **Special thanks to LauratheChef, my most frequent reviewer! It keeps me going to know you enjoy my story!**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

As soon as Lorelei walked in, she felt her stress and irritation melt away. She looked around at the people sitting at tables and counters, mostly absorbed in their drinks. The pool table was abandoned, as was the dance floor. She immediately spotted a beautiful woman with long brown hair in curls sitting at the bar. She hung her jacket on a hook by the door before seating herself beside the woman. She was staring into a glass of red wine and looked as if she had cried recently.

Clearing her throat softly, Lorelei whispered sweetly in the womans ear, "why is someone so beautiful, looking so sad?"

The woman started a little at the closeness and took a few moments to look the siren over. She eventually found her voice again and leaned away from Lorelei, "I have had a very difficult day. Why are you so close to me?"

Lorelei straightened, smoothing her frown quickly. It must be her first glass of wine… "forgive me, I'm not fully adjusted to this realm. My name is Lorelei, and you are…?"

"Belle. Are you the siren people have told me about?"

Lorelei smiled at her, licking her lips before replying, "I am. Unless there is another incredibly sexy silver streaked woman running around."

Belle giggled at that, this womans ego was phenomenal. "I suppose it is obvious who you are." Belle frowned at her then and turned to face her fully, "I was hoping to talk to you tomorrow… but since you are here now, can I ask a few questions?"

Lorelei pursed her lips, considering. "I will tell you what. You ask a question, I ask a question. I will let you go first even."

Nodding Belle began this game, "Is Rumple coming back?"

Lorelei blinked, she hadn't expected that one. "Why do you care?"

"I'm not clear on the rules of this game, but I had thought that you would answer my question before asking your own…"

Apparently, Belle was one of those clever women. "I apologize, of course. I do not believe he is coming back. I have come to the conclusion that he put this collar on me to keep me here so he could be left alone in the Underworld." Nodding, it was her turn, "Now, why do you care if he comes back or not?"

Belle sighed, looking deflated. "He's my husband… Well, I suppose he was. If he isn't coming back, I don't see a very solid marriage in the future." A sad tear rolled down her cheek when she finished.

Lorelei assumed the woman was done now, having gotten her answer so she gently reached to wipe the tear away, earning her hand a solid smack. "Hey! I was being nice woman."

Belle glared at her sideways, "no, you were flirting. I just now decided my husband isn't coming back and you have already flirted with me." Taking a deep breath, Belle seemed to gather herself and faced Lorelei again, "now, my next question." Lorelei held up a finger to stop her. If she was going to have to deal with an uprtight intelligent woman with morals, she needed a drink.

Waving the bartender over she asked him, "do you have a decent bourbon back there?" When he nodded and held up a bottle the siren nodded, "that'll do. Let me have a glass of that on the rocks please." The man poured a small amount into a glass with ice but before he could put the bottle down Lorelei tapped her fingers on the bar top. "My dear man, I am in fact a big girl. I can handle an adult sized drink, if you wouldn't mind." He raised a brow at her, but filled the glass up most of the way. She nodded and sipped at it as he walked away. Glancing at Belle she said, "continue dear."

Belle cleared her throat and sipped her wine before answering, "can I examine you naked?"

Lorelei choked on the sip she was taking, the liquid burning her throat as she coughed. Of all the things she expected, that was not it. Recovering finally she gave Belle a seductive grin, "well why didn't you say so? Let me finish my drink and we will head to your place."

Belle had the grace to blush when she corrected the sirens thoughts, "that is not what I meant. I want to read your runes. I recognize the language, but I need to see it from start to finish to properly translate it."

Lorelei stared at this unusual girl like she was speaking gibberish, "read what? What do you mean translate? My runes are just pretty markings of my power, girl."

Shaking her head, Belle stood and turned Lorelei so her back was facing the bar top. She stood directly in front of her and actually pushed herself between the sirens knees as she sat, stunned at the intrusion. "No, they are not just random marks. They tell a story of some sort. The problem is, you need to see the whole story to read it." She was now leaning over the siren as Lorelei leaned back as far as she could, steadying herself by gripping the bar on either side. Belle didn't seem to take much notice that the siren was quickly becoming flustered with the way she was standing between her knees and tugging at the collar of her shirt. "There, see? The story starts here." She used her left hand to hold the shirt collar down, exposing a bra strap and putting two fingers on the tiny violin over the sirens heart.

Gaping at the woman, Lorelei stared right into her eyes, trying to see the madness that was obviously inside her pretty head. "I have no idea what you are talking about…" she stopped talking and started relaxing as Belle started tracing the runes on her chest with her nail, mumbling under her breath. Lorelei felt her heart pick up and reached to pull the woman closer.

She was interrupted by the sound of the door to the rabbit hole being thrown open and a very out of breath waitress rushing in. The sirens mouth dropped open, eyes wide. She looked thoroughly pissed off, and incredibly hot. The sirens heart did pick up then, quite dramatically.

Ruby immediately spotted Lorelei, sprawled on the bar stool with Belle's hands pulling her shirt down and touching her. Her eyes flashed a wolfish yellow as she stalked towards the pair.

Belle however, didn't seem to notice the rage. She had glanced at Ruby and then went back to studying the sirens chest. When she realized Ruby was standing very close to her, she glance up and seeing the face on the woman, she withdrew her hands and stepped back slightly frowning at Red, "Ruby, are you alright? You look like you could chew nails right now."

Lorelei gently used one hand to push Belle by the waist far enough away that she could swing back around to face the bar and swallow her entire drink. Ruby was biting her lip and trying to steady her breathing before she spoke to Belle, "What exactly is happening here Belle?"

Belle shrugged a bit and answered innocently, "I want to read her runes, she didn't think they meant anything so I was trying to show her that they tell a story. I want to translate it, but I need to see them all. I have figured out that it starts on her chest, a silver and black violin over her heart is like the first word of the story."

Ruby scrubbed her face and then steered Belle back to her seat at the bar. She sat on the other side of the siren and ordered a beer before leaning around Lorelei to talk to Belle. "Okay, you're lucky I know you Belle. Because when I walked in, you were between her legs with your hands down her shirt…" She waited for the look of understanding to set in on her and when she blushed and began stammering excuses, Red interrupted her, "you were reading her like a book. I get it now, you're seriously oblivious to the world around you when you read Belle, but if you could be a little more careful about groping my girlfriend, I'd appreciate it." Belle nodded rapidly as she turned back to her glass of wine.

Lorelei was staring at Red incredulously however, "girlfriend? Did you just claim me? I am not your girlfriend. I am no ones girlfriend. Go find a different possession." Lorelei waved the bartender over for a refill.

Before he got there, Ruby spun the siren around on her stool and kissed her in a manner very not public appropriate, making Belle take her glass of wine and move to a small table instead. Forgetting what she had been irritated about, Lorelei quickly found her way to the hem of the deliciously short skirt, starting to work her way up an infinitely soft thigh. When Ruby finally broke away to breath, the siren fell forward slightly, looking out of breath and boiling with want. Ruby spun her back towards the bar and smiled quietly, sipping her beer.

When her sense came back to her, Lorelei downed half her drink before speaking, "fine. We can be girlfriends. But I get to sleep around while you're at work."

"No." Ruby replied.

Without a second of hesitation Lorelei answered, "fine."

Ruby grinned and finished her beer. Granny would be pissed, but she didn't intend to leave the siren alone in the bar tonight.

Emma jumped out of the cruiser, staring at Ruby curiously as she ran past them both and into the bar. Shaking her head, she decided to figure that out later. "Henry, what the hell kid? Do you have any idea how bat shit crazy Regina is right now?" She helped Henry stand and opened the passenger door for him to get in, closed it and hopped in the drivers seat. "She poofed into the station, I almost pissed myself, she was screaming before the smoke even dissipated. I heard 'Henry' 'rabbit hole' and 'murder a bitch' before she threw my keys and jacket at me and poofed me into the cruiser. She started the engine and hit the siren as I gripped the wheel. I almost died." Emma was driving, without sirens, to the mansion as she talked.

"I'm sorry I scared you guys, but she asked where I was. Lorelei found the rabbit hole and I knew she wasn't going to leave once she got in there. I told Ruby so she could maybe get her out, and then I figured you could go back and help." Henry grimaced as they got closer to home, he was so grounded right now.

"Okay, look, the siren is not your responsibility alright? If she wants to run around getting drunk and sleeping with half the town, that is her problem. If she causes trouble I will deal with it, but until then, she isn't my problem either." They pulled up at home and they both got out, heading to the door.

Regina opened it before they got there, staring at Henry. "Did you go in that bar?"

"No mom."

"Did you want to go in that bar?" Emma asked.

Henry pursed his lips and stared at the ground, lying was pointless. "Yeah, but only to make sure Lorelei didn't do something stupid…"

Emma held in her smile, he wasn't lying but he wasn't telling the whole truth. Maybe his teenage years would turn out interesting after all. Regina crossed her arms and thought for a minute before telling him, "since you didn't go in, I suppose you didn't actually do anything wrong. I will let you off with a warning this time. But if it happens again you will be punished. Dinner is on the table, don't let it get cold."

Henry nodded and rushed inside, he made sure he was in the dining room before he pulled out his phone to text Ruby. He wanted to know what the siren was doing, you know, just to make sure she wasn't in trouble. It's not like he was overly curious what went on in the rabbit hole…

Emma smiled and wrapped her arms around Regina, "He's a good kid. He's just trying to keep her out of trouble."

Regina relaxed in her arms and kissed her cheek before answering, "I know, but how can he possibly keep up with an immortal whore?"

Emma was laughing when she followed Regina into the house. She might as well have some dinner before returning the cruiser to the station. "Well, somehow, Ruby got wind that she went in there. I'm not saying our kid is a genius but… She looked pissed. I'm pretty sure she will keep Lorelei in check." As an after thought as they sat at the table with an already eating Henry she added, "you know, when I talked to her earlier, she said Lorelei was her soul mate."

Regina pulled a face of disappointment, "Miss Lucas would choose the single most impossible thing to attach herself to."

Henry swallowed his mouthful and added, "Ruby doesn't do anything the easy way."

They ate making just small conversation. When he was done, Henry told his mothers goodnight and went to his room, happily reading his comic books. Emma helped clear the table, she even helped load the dishwasher. Of course, Regina fixed every dish she put in, but still, she had helped.

When everything had been finished, Regina took Emma by the hand and led her to the study, gesturing her to sit down before heading to the cider and glasses. "Regina, I have to return the cruiser still…"

Regina scoffed and continued pouring the drinks, "Emma, who is going to write you up for driving the cruiser home? The mayor or the sheriff?"

Emma nodded in appreciation, "You're right, as usual." She took the offered glass of cider and watch Regina intently as she sat facing her on the couch, heels kicked off and legs pulled up on the couch. That all too familiar fire in her body flaring up immediately. She swallowed and took a long drink before she was able to speak again, especially since Regina currently had a predatory look on her face. "So… how was your day?"

Regina chuckled darkly and shook her head slowly, "my day is not done yet, Miss Swan."

Frowning, Emma put her glass on the table and kicked off her boots, mimicking Regina's pose on the couch. "Miss Swan… I hate that."

Raising one perfect brow, Regina sat her own glass on the table and said, "oh really?" Before Emma had a chance to wrap her mind around the actions, Regina had pushed her down on the couch and had situated herself proudly straddling her waist. She leaned down slowly, hands on either side of Emma's head and whispered in a low voice close enough to her ear to make her shiver, "would you like to hear a secret, Miss Swan?" Emma nodded quickly and her muscles tensed as Regina ran a tongue along her ear lobe before speaking again, voice just slightly lower than before, "I have considered your advice, Miss Swan, and have decided that it is the best course of action…"

Emma frantically searched her memory for what advice she had ever given the damn woman, but drew a total blank. It didn't help that her hands had found the perfectly toned thighs that were straddling her waist, realizing the skirt Regina wore had been hiked up considerably. Her fingers trembled higher as she asked, "and what advice… was that?"

Regina bit her ear lobe then and released it with a barely audible growl, "what your mother doesn't know won't hurt her…" Emma immediately tried to latch onto Regina, but she vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

Emma threw herself off the couch and launched up the stairs taking them two or even three at a time until she burst through the bedroom door, and slammed on her brakes in shock. There Regina stood, wearing the thinnest, shortest, blackest robe known to the free world. She was biting her lip and humming as she came to stand in front of Emma and reached around to push the door closed. Emma was frozen in place, until Regina placed an impossibly soft kiss on her lips. Emma wrapped her arms around the brunettes waist and took a firm grip of the womans ass in her hands.

Giggling, Regina pulled back just enough to tug at the tiny piece of material holding the robe closed. The robe fell open and Emma felt her heart beat faster and faster as it fell open. She let out a tiny whine before she couldn't hold herself back anymore. She lifted the smaller woman off her feet and laid her on the bed, situating herself on top of her and between her legs, kissing and touching everything at once.

After a startled cry at being lifted and practically thrown, Regina couldn't stop the moans that escaped her as Emma explored every inch of her. She whined when Emma suddenly stopped, she was listening, she had heard something in the house. She suddenly remembered Henry and the fact that he didn't need to hear all the sounds she was about to pull out of Regina. She tried to focus, to make a silence spell for the bedroom, but Regina had taken the opportunity to magic her clothes away and their skin was flush against one another. She managed to wave erratically towards the door and Regina got the hint, casting the spell herself before grinding against Emma in a very un-queen like manner.

It didn't take long before Emma had her chanting her name and even swearing. She had waited so long to have Regina in her hands like this, there was no chance she was stopping until one of them dropped. At some point however, Regina was panting and made Emma stop. As Emma nibbled her way back up Reginas abdomen, she was smiling. Finally reaching eye level with her, she asked, "was it worth it? Or do you think we should have waited?" Emma had her cheeky grin on her face.

Regina closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, huffing a small laugh before opening her eyes to stare into the green ones looking down at her. "I think I should have tried that robe the night you brought Henry back from Boston…"

They both laughed as Emma got comfortable on her back, pulling Regina into her side. The brunette snuggled into her neck and chest, wrapping an arm possessively around Emma's middle. Emma kissed her firmly on top of her head and held her close whispering, "I love you". She smiled as she let her own eyes drift closed. Regina's reply had been muffled and half asleep already.

….


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Lorelei attempted at least ten times to get Ruby to make out with her at the bar, but the woman refused to do anything more than give her a heated kiss that made her ache. Finally, Lorelei let her head hit the bar top and groaned, "what the fuck do I have to do to get you naked?"

"Well, if you start talking about having babies, that seems to do the trick for me." Belle had wandered back to lean on Ruby, she had obviously drank more since moving away from the bar. "At least it did a week ago. I was mad, but then he was all chatty about babies…" She shrugged and took another drink of her wine. Ruby took the drink from her, told the bartender she was done now and found a woman they knew to take her home. Returning to her seat, Lorelei gestured with her hand, wanting an answer to her previous question.

Ruby sipped her third beer and shrugged, "all you have to do is come home with me. Then, all the clothes come off and we can do whatever you want for as long as you want."

Lorelei straightened in her seat and ordered another bourbon. She hadn't bothered to keep count of her drinks, who cared? She sniffed indignantly at Ruby's words. "If you don't want to stay, then leave. No one is forcing you to be here."

"Yeah, see here's the thing though. You" Ruby pointed a finger directly in the sirens face, "have this problem understanding what a relationship is. And I" She pointed at her own face, "do not want to go to prison for murder because you don't seem to know or care about the whole monogamy thing."

Lorelei stared blankly at her, "tell me something, why are you so very adamant about you and me belonging only to each other? Why do you even want me? I am an absolutely horrid person to attempt forming a relationship with. I wouldn't want to try and date me."

Ruby had stared her in the eye the whole time. When she stopped talking and just stared at her, challenging her with these questions… Ruby lunged forward and wrapped the siren in a rib bruising hug. After a few stunned moments, Lorelei hugged her back with a very confused look on her face. Several minutes passed like that until Red pulled back enough to look the siren in the eye again. "I'm pretty sure I fucking love you."

Lorelei stared at her, blinking rapidly, trying to understand. "Ruby, I uhm… well I mean…" Ruby silenced her with an unusually soft kiss. Lorelei smiled at her, waited for her to sit back down and then finished her drink. Then, she stood and took Ruby by the hand. Without a word, she led Ruby out of the bar and back to room 14.

Ruby headed for the shower, she hated going to bed smelling like the diner. When she was done, she found Lorelei sitting on the edge of the bed, naked, of course. She sat next to her and was going to ask her if she was tired or not, but the siren spoke first.

"I think… that… I would like to attempt… something." She stared at the floor and was wringing her hands in an odd way.

Ruby waited, but she didn't go on so she said, "Okay… and what exactly would you like to try?"

Lorelei stood up suddenly and started pacing, tapping her chin. After a few minutes and Ruby just watching her pace back and forth, she stopped and turned to look at Ruby. "I want to make a relationship with you."

Ruby blinked and looked up to the ceiling to attempt to stop the tears from falling. Lorelei sat down on the bed next to her and turned her face to look at her, the look in her eye was enough to break the tears loose and Ruby tried to pull away to compose herself, but Lorelei cupped her face and stared straight at her as the tears leaked out. "Why are you crying, right now, why?" She said it softly but there was an intensity to it.

"Because, that's probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. You just told me you want to make a relationship with me. And that, is really amazing."

Lorelei's eyes widened in what seemed to be surprise and then she pulled Ruby in for a kiss that sent electricity shooting down her spine. "I think maybe when you are not so tired, you will want to rethink having a relationship with me. You look incredibly tired."

Ruby huffed a laugh, "so do you, actually. And you smell like bourbon."

Nodding, Lorelei stood and pushed Ruby onto the bed properly, and covered her up. "You go to sleep, I am going to shower, and then I will sleep also."

Ruby raised a brow at her, "Lorelei, if you sneak out after I fall asleep,…"

Lorelei smiled and winked at her, "no sneaking out, I promise." She went and showered, scrubbing her mouth with the toothpaste she found, and the toothbrush she found… She should probably get her own tomorrow… Shrugging, she finished brushing and turned the light out. She headed into the other room, but stopped as she looked at the bed. Just like the first night, Ruby was laying in the middle of the bed, her hair spread wildly everywhere. The way the light from the window cast shadows across her face made her look unbelievably beautiful. Lorelei stood and stared, her mind memorizing every detail.

"Stop staring at me and come to bed." Ruby shifted and ran a hand over the empty side of the bed, "All this space is going to waste."

Lorelei froze in her tracks. Her eyes went wide as they darted round looking at nothing but her heart started racing, and then she flashed a big toothy grin and ran to Ruby, pulling her out of bed and pushing her into the closet before running to tear through the clothing bags from earlier for herself.

"Uhm, I'm all about games in the bedroom, but uh, what're we doing?"

Lorelei was wrestling into her clothes as she glanced at Ruby just standing there, "clothes woman, get dressed or I will leave you here. It's an emergency!"

Ruby wasn't sure her definition of emergency was the same, but she was confident the siren would run out without her so she threw on sweats and a t-shirt. She put her sneakers on and tied them quickly. Lorelei was already at the door motioning for her to hurry up by the time Ruby was done.

"Lorelei, it's like 2 am, what is the sudden emergency?"

"I'm not telling, it's a surprise emergency! But trust me, it's fantastic. Now, I need you to show me where Regina and Emma live."

Throwing her hands up in surrender she led the way out to the street, Lorelei quickly made her run. Ruby led the way to the mansion, convinced they were about to get either shot or incinerated, depending on which woman they woke up first. They came to the house and only the porch light was on, except for one window on the second floor that was lit.

Lorelei searched the ground for small rocks and before Ruby could stop her, she chucked a couple at the lit window. "Lorelei, holy shit, they will kill you. Are you mental? Tell me what's going on! Shit, what if they're bangin and you just interrupted?"

Before the siren even considered answering her, the curtains moved and Henry opened the window looking down at them. "Ruby? Lorelei? What are you doing?"

Lorelei smiled up at him energetically. "I knew that was your window! Henry, you have to come with us! Jump, I'll catch you."

"Oh my god no! Are you insane?" Ruby waved at Henry telling him no.

Henry looked dumbfounded, "I am not jumping. And I barely escaped getting in trouble because of you earlier."

Shushing him to lower his voice Lorelei tried again, "Henry, you do not want to miss this. It's going to be the highlight of your month I promise. It's going to be phenomenal! And it's an emergency, so you need to hurry the fuck up boy!"

Henry grimaced hard and bit his lip, but he could feel her excitement through his tattoo and was desperately curious… He turned from the window, causing Lorelei to groan in disappointment, but he returned a few moments later with a ladder Regina got him in case of a fire. He hooked it on as quietly as he could and shut off his light before heading down. He had heard his mothers a little while ago, he thought at least one of them had ran through the hallway, but they had gone completely silent shortly after that so they must be asleep. When the ladder dropped down, Lorelei whispered to Ruby, "you do know they aren't having sex right? Snow told them no. You must be able to feel the sexual tension between those two…"

Ruby was looking around, waiting to be shot and whispered back defensively, "I didn't know Snow talked them into waiting. And seriously, that sexual tension has been there since the first day they met. There was a betting pool for a while on how long before they hooked up. But after like a year we gave up on them and started ignoring the tension." Lorelei was shaking her head in disbelief. Why had they taken so long when everyone in town knew they wanted it?

Once Henry was on the ground the siren pulled him towards the street and told Ruby, "where is Belle?"

"I don't know! At home maybe? I think she sleeps either in the library or at the pawn shop. Probably the library tonight." Ruby was about to question this night again, but Lorelei knew where the library was and bolted, dragging Henry at a run behind her.

When they got to the library, Henry sat on the curb, breathing heavily. Lorelei tried to open the door, but it was locked. She started running around the building as Ruby checked on Henry to make sure he wasn't stroking out. Unfortunately, that involved taking her eyes off the siren. When she looked up, Lorelei had climbed up to the second level where she was prying at a window. Ruby couldn't shout, she didn't want anyone calling the sheriff because Emma would shoot them for having Henry.

Lorelei had found some piping and had climbed up to a window, which was unlocked because it was on the second floor. She slipped into a small hall and started racing around, searching for Belle. Eventually, she found her in a small bedroom and luckily she was still dressed. She was slightly disappointed, but then considering how difficult it would have been to dress a drunk woman, she decided it was a good turn of events. She picked the woman up in her arms and carried her down the stairs, only knocking her feet against a wall once. Belle never really stirred, she must have drank an entire bottle.

Lorelei balanced the woman and threw open the main door, Ruby and Henry jumping in shock when she came dashing past them carrying Belle. Ruby dashed after her to stop whatever incredibly crazy, half cooked idea she was having, but she heard Henry call out behind her and decided to jog with him, instead of leaving him behind. This was the point even Ruby had to give up. She pulled out her phone and dialed Emma's cell phone.

...

Emma had just closed her eyes, exhausted but so very content. She held onto Regina tightly and sighed, immediately dozing off. And then her phone was ringing. She ignored it. It was like 2 am. The station phone would have been forwarded to David, it was his night to be on call.

The ringing stopped. And then started anew. She ignored it again. When the fourth round started, Regina groaned loudly, "Emma, answer it. And immediately arrest someone."

Emma groaned and growled as she untangled herself from bed and fumbled through her clothes for her phone which was ringing for the fifth time now. "Fucking hello?" She said as she answered it.

"Emma! Lorelei is doing… something."

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, she answered, "Ruby, I don't care what she's doing. Unless she killed someone it can wait till morning."

"She kidnapped Belle, she's running across town carrying her…"

"So you know Belle isn't dead, it can wait till morning…"

Emma was interrupted by a loud shuffling noise as someone took Ruby's phone and then she heard Henry, "I think she's headed for the loft! She has Belle and is running full speed for the loft!"

Emma's eyes widened as she stood quickly, too exhausted to dress with magic she began hastily fumbling into her clothes before saying, "I'm on my way!"

She hung up and dropped the phone, pulling on her pants and shirt before remembering her boots were in the study. Regina was sitting up now, "Emma? What is it?"

Emma fell over pulling her socks on and looked at Regina with what she hoped was a believable half lie, "Uh… Lorelei kidnapped Belle and is running towards my parents loft with her?"

Regina frowned at her and growled out, "Emma…"

Sighing in defeat she added, "Henry is with Ruby…"

Regina was up and out of bed like a bullet, pulling on pants and a shirt faster than Emma had. As Emma raced to the study for her boots, Regina had started her car and was half out of the driveway when Emma ran to the passenger door, jumping in on the run. The brunette was scary calm and quiet…

Clearing her throat Emma said, "now, we should probably ask before we start throwing bullets or fire right?"

Regina smiled too sweetly and answered in a very mayor-like manner, "Yes, of course dear. I'm sure there is a very good explanation."

Emma swallowed, knowing this was going to be terrifying.

Lorelei dashed up the stairs at the loft, Belle was mumbling, and hopefully waking up. She stopped at the door to the Charmings and shifted Belle to her shoulder fireman style before beginning to beat on the door. It didn't take long before she heard someone run to the door, throwing it open angrily.

David stood there in his pajama shorts looking half awake and furious. "Lorelei! What the hell…?" He saw Belle and just assumed something was wrong so he stood aside and let the siren come in. She dropped Belle unceremoniously onto the couch and clapped her hands together with a huge smile on.

"Where's Snow?" She asked, looking around.

"Checking to make sure you didn't wake Neal. This had better be a very big emergency." Snow emerged from a room up the stairs. She was in a thin night gown that made the siren cock her head appraisingly.

David frowned at her and snapped his fingers in her face to get her attention. "Lorelei, what's going on?"

She opened her mouth but Henry and Ruby burst through the door just then, Ruby was hanging up her phone and putting it back in her pocket. Lorelei frowned at her and pointed an accusing finger at the woman, "you… you called those women! Didn't you?" Ruby nodded. Lorelei threw her hands up.

"You kidnapped Belle and ran like you stole something! Of course I called them!" Ruby was patting Henrys back to try and help him catch his breath before sitting him in a kitchen chair. "I hope Emma shoots you. Not like in the face, but maybe an arm, or a leg to slow your ass down, that would work."

Lorelei waved a dismissive hand at her, "whatever. I might as well wait for them then."

"Wait for what?!" Snow demanded.

Lorelei turned back to her, but she had found a robe to put on over her nightgown, which was irritating at best. "You, need to touch her." The siren gestured from Snow to Belle.

David scrubbed a hand through his hair, "did you seriously do all this, bring Belle here, just so you could watch Snow touch her? What is wrong with you?"

Snow shook her head and headed for the kitchen to make tea for everyone. If Emma and Regina were coming, it was going to be a long night.

They didn't have to wait long before Regina and Emma walked in. Regina immediately used her magic to wrap the siren in vines and slam her against a wall, knocking the air out of her. Lorelei opened her mouth but a vine quickly covered it. Emma was trying to tell Regina to calm down, but she didn't hear a word. She slowly walked to Lorelei, frowning and breathing shallowly against the wall. Ruby was beside her, looking defensive, but also hopeless. Regina stood eye to eye with the siren and stared at her.

"How many times are you going to endanger my son? How many times do you think I will let you off easy?" Emma tried talking her down again, but Regina held a finger up to her and Emma backed off, grimacing. "This had better be a very good reason, siren. If it isn't, I may not be able to kill you, but without your magic, I can certainly keep you in a very small box, buried very deeply, for a very long time."

The siren just stared back at her, challenge in her silver eyes. Henry could feel excitement, anger and amusement, but no fear. Regina waited a few more moments before she waved the vine across her mouth away, revealing the sirens grinning face. "So tell me, Lorelei, what is all this about?"

Licking her lips and wagging her brows at Regina, the siren motioned with her head towards Belle, "wake her up, and make Snow touch her."

Regina blinked at the woman wrapped in vines. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Wake up Belle, she's pretty drunk so it might take a few smacks, and once she is awake, have Snow touch her. Skin contact, it doesn't even have to be dirty." She winked before the vines tightened a little more, making her breathing rough.

"Regina, I don't usually urge the use of force, especially from you, but please, kill her. Or box her up and bury her, I don't care." Snow said while calmly sipping her tea. She glanced at Henry and put her tea down, deciding he looked like he needed to eat. She started making some sort of soup, ignoring the entire room.

"Wait, please. There has to be a reason Regina." Red was slowly trying to get between her and Lorelei. She was no match for a pissed off evil queen, but she had to try. "I mean, yes, she is a total creep and if Snow and Belle happened to be standing together, she might try this, but its really late… or early, depends I guess, and if she were just being pervy, I mean I assume she would have said they had to kiss, not just touch. And, she even said it doesn't have to be dirty, so I mean Snow could just sort of you know, shake Belle's hand right?"

"But the why is what she hasn't bothered telling us!" Emma shouted in frustration. She was tired and sick of the siren.

Lorelei just smiled, "it's a surprise."

Ruby rolled her eyes and scrubbed her face with her hands in frustration. She was tired too. And she really couldn't defend her mental girlfriend on this one. She was insane.

Regina narrowed her eyes at Lorelei and finally said, "Okay, siren. But I promise you, if this isn't really good, you're getting boxed up and buried."

Taking this as a go ahead, Emma got a cup of cold water from the sink and her and Ruby headed to Belle. Ruby sat her upright, her head lolling in sleep. Emma flicked some water on her and called her name, shaking her. When nothing happened, Emma sighed and shrugged at Ruby who laid her back down and stepped aside. Emma dumped the icy water on Belle's face, and the woman sat bolt up right, sputtering and swinging her arms around wildly.

"What… Emma? What…? Where am I?" Belle was swaying, obviously still rather drunk.

Emma handed her a towel and said, "so Lorelei kidnapped you and now is insisting we make you touch Snow."

Belle stared at her like she had three heads, stuttering and trying desperately to understand. Snow meanwhile was handing Henry a bowl of hot soup and resumed sipping he tea, pretending no one else was here. Regina was still staring at the siren, so sure nothing would come of this.

Emma helped Belle stand up, and practically carried her over to the kitchen where Snow was. "Mom, just touch her please so Regina can kill Lorelei and we can go home?"

Snow put down her tea and looked at Emma with an angry sideways glare, "Emma, this is ridiculous."

"I know, just do it, please I'm tired." Emma gave her the puppy dog eyes.

It worked, everyone had eyes on Snow and Belle as Snow took a deep breath and reached towards the wavering Belle. Even Regina was watching. Snow held her hand above Belle's arm, hesitating, but then let out the air she had held and left her hand connect with Belle's skin.

There was immediately a burst of magic between the two. Belle was luckily already being held up by Emma and David had lunged to catch Snow as they were thrown apart.

Belle seemed to become very sober then, she shrugged off Emma and stared at Snow, eyes wide in confusion, "What the hell…" She didn't finish the question before she bolted towards the bathroom, holding her mouth.

Regina turned a furious frown on the siren who was wheezing trying to laugh against the vines. Regina let the vines vanish, admitting something had certainly happened. "What was that! No excuses no playing, tell me!"

Lorelei collapsed on the floor, Red immediately holding her close, but she was laughing so hard she had tears rolling out her eyes. "What happened?! What happened?!" Lorelei slowed her laughter before telling them, "You have been very patient so I will give you the quick version… Hades was a dick, Rumple is a fucking moron, and Snow just got Belle pregnant!" She erupted into a fit of laughter again, and it was the only sound in the loft, except for the sound of Snow gasping before she fainted in David's arms.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

David was staring at Lorelei as she laughed, leaning back on Ruby. His mouth hanging open, holding Snow up as her eyes fluttered and she started regaining herself. "What… what does that even mean? How… Pregnant?" Snow stood and leaned against the counter. She picked up her teacup in a shaky hand and poured it out, she pulled out a liquor bottle and filled the teacup up, sipping at it.

Regina was concentrating, trying to figure out what had happened here. "I want the long version of this story, Lorelei." Nodding, she seemed to make up her own mind, "yes, definitely the long story."

Emma had taken a seat on the back of the couch to stare, dumbfounded from her mother to the siren and back again. "My mother… got Belle pregnant?"

Lorelei had managed to calm her laughing finally, just a few giggles escaping as she stood and brushed herself off, holding a hand out to help Red stand. She kissed the still dazed looking woman before waving towards the bathroom where Belle was running the sink water, presumably to rinse her mouth after she had vomited loudly. "Wait for the mommy to be, I don't like telling stories twice." She then leaned her backside against the table beside where Henry was frowning at his steaming soup.

He could feel mostly just amusement coming from her. She wasn't making things up, he was sure of it.

Finally, Belle emerged from the bathroom looking pale. "I'm so sorry, I think I drank far too much earlier, I really apologize." She looked around and met all the eyes staring at her then, "What? What happened?"

Red looked at Lorelei and motioned for her to get talking, "you cannot leave us hanging now, tell us what is going on here."

Lorelei shook her head, giggling a little bit more before clearing her throat and telling the tale. "Right, well, Rumple said he took something to the underworld. Remember Persephone?" Everyone except Belle and Red nodded so she continued, "right, so time sort of stops for aging purposes. Now, Rumple came back to Storybrooke halfway through you're time there. When he came back, he managed the whole collar and Robin thing. Apparently, he also visited his wife." Belle nodded, "and apparently, he was babbling about babies."

Belle interrupted then, "he did! He was sort of trying to figure out if i wanted one, which I do, and he was worried about not being around to raise it. Which I guess was because he wasn't coming back…" Ruby went to her and gave her a half hug to comfort her.

Lorelei frowned at the gesture, not sure why but it seemed to bother her, she shook it off and carried on, "right, well I'm pretty sure you were pregnant when he came back a week ago."

Belle gasped and asked in a panic, "I was pregnant? What do you mean? Did something happen to it?" Ruby hugged her and told her to wait.

Lorelei crossed her arms, frowning at the women. "Quit interrupting. Anyway, he returned to the underworld and erased his memory so he couldn't tell me what possession he took to hide in the underworld. I realized he took your unborn child. Taking it there with his magic, it would halt the growth of the child, therefore he didn't have to worry he wouldn't be there to raise it." Belle started crying and Ruby held her, soothing her. Lorelei felt her anger rising, but couldn't grasp why so she decided to ignore them now. "Now, Snow, this is where you come in. Space. Hades told you to sacrifice space. Hades was a dick. Rumple gave him the unborn child, so he could hold onto it in a safe place. He assumed Hades hid it in his castle. He didn't, he hid it in you, Snow. He put it there and when it felt Belle, it went back from whence it came! I don't know if Hades knew it would do that or not… Good thing this worked or you would have to carry and give birth to Rumples kid."

Snow had given up on the teacup, she took a pull from the bottle this time. "I had Rumplestiltskins baby in me?" Lorelei nodded.

Belle gasped, "Snow got me pregnant… with Rumple's baby… that he took from me…" Lorelei nodded.

Snow gagged and ran to the bathroom, David following her. There was immediately vomiting coming from behind the door. No one was entirely certain which one of them it was.

Belle was clinging to Ruby, hysterical and borderline hyperventilating, "no, this can't be true… I can't… what am I going to do? I can't do this…"

Ruby hugged her and held her face up to look at her, "Belle, you're not doing it alone. I will help you and so will most of the town I bet. I promise."

Lorelei was burning up with something and she only got madder at not knowing what she was feeling. She growled and stared at the two women in a fury. Henry huffed a laugh, "chill out, they're just friends."

Lorelei leaned down closer to him, leaning on her hand beside his soup, "what're you talking about boy? I'm fine."

Henry was blowing on a spoonful of soup, "I can feel it remember? You're like mad jealous right now."

Ruby snapped her head to look at them, "you're jealous?" She looked like she was staring at a wounded puppy when she looked at Lorelei.

Lorelei put on a blank face and silently swore at her sensitive hearing, "of course not. I have no reason to be jealous, that's ridiculous."

"Henry said you are jealous. He can feel you Lorelei." Emma said, gesturing at Ruby holding a crying Belle. "Probably because your girlfriend is holding someone else. It happens."

Lorelei raised a brow and shrugged, "he is mistaken, he must have been distracted…"

"By what?" Henry asked.

Without looking back at him, she used her hand to casually flip the bowl of hot soup into his lap. He jumped up swatting at himself and screeching wildly. Regina rushed to him, tossing Lorelei aside. She used her magic to dry him and soothe the burns.

Ruby smirked at her, still soothing circles on Belle's back, "Lorelei, Belle is my friend. Friends comfort each other. Seriously, don't be jealous."

Lorelei picked herself up from where Regina had tossed her aside and brushed off her clothes, "I am not jealous, woman. I do not get jealous. That ridiculous girl has nothing to offer that could possibly make me jealous."

Emma yawned and went to where Regina and Henry were. "Okay. I'm done with this shit for tonight. You think you have it in you to poof us home?"

Regina shook her head and handed the car keys to Emma, "I don't even have it in me to drive dear."

Emma smiled and took the keys, and the three of them started heading for the door. Snow and David came out of the bathroom as they opened the front door and Emma turned to her parents, "Mom, dad… I will see you guys tomorrow?"

The Charmings nodded and Emma turned back to the door, Lorelei however, had noticed something else. And considering how uncomfortable she was right now, she needed someone else to take some heat. "Emma, when you guys get home, try sleeping this time. No more sex tonight, you look tired."

Emma's mouth fell open and Regina's eyes went wide, both women's eyes snapping to Snow. "What? You didn't…" Snow squinted at her daughter looking decidedly guilty by the door. "You did! The wedding is ruined! How are you supposed to be properly married in a royal manner Emma?!" Snow was absolutely enraged.

Lorelei took the opportunity to slip past the shouting women and Henry who was trying to mitigate the argument. She quickly made her way down the steps and outside. She took a deep breath, feeling better about herself as she heard the argument, even from the street. Regina had jumped in and soon it would be an all out feud. She only made it about three steps towards the rabbit hole before Ruby called out behind her, "Lorelei. You will go home, and you will go now."

She stopped and clenched her jaw before turning on a smile and turning to look at Red, "that's where I'm headed." Ruby raised a brow and gestured in the other direction. "Oh, my bad, I must have gotten turned around." She waited for Ruby to catch up to her before interlacing their fingers and walking casually towards the inn.

Ruby tried very hard to be mad at catching her walking towards the bar again, but when she held her hand, the irritation melted away. "You do realize you started a war up there right?"

Lorelei nodded and bumped shoulders with her, smiling, "it was worth it. Besides, you're not mad at me, so I'm happy. I would very much like to go home and make you fulfill your earlier promise. I believe you said anything I want."

Ruby felt a rush of heat in her body, at the same time that she yawned widely. "A promise is a promise."

Lorelei smiled and they made it to the room and had undressed and gotten under the blankets before much longer. It took a few minutes of pushing and pulling but eventually, Lorelei was laying behind Ruby, snuggled up tight against her with one arm under her head and one wrapped over her stomach. She kissed her just below her ear and said, "goodnight Ruby."

Ruby asked in confusion, "is something wrong?"

Lorelei just snuggled in deeper and tighter mumbling into her hair, "this is what I want to do. I want to hold you and wake up still holding you."

Ruby clung to the sirens arms wrapped around her and fell asleep quickly with the biggest smile she has ever had on her face.

The loft war had raged for nearly half an hour before Regina forced Henry and Emma out the door, slamming it behind her. She was offended, hurt, irritated, enraged and most of all, done dealing with Snow White. David and Henry had been the neutral parties, trying to stop the arguing, but after a few minutes, they took seats at the table, just watching and pulling frowns when things got rough between the women.

Emma kept trying to apologize for breaking the promise not to have sex, Regina kept defending their right to do whatever they damn well pleased and Snow kept screaming about traditions and rules and systems that were in place for a reason.

Eventually Snow had told them she and David would have no part in the wedding because it wouldn't be real anyway since they had defiled the whole thing. That was when Regina had laughed loudly and screamed at her that she would regret saying that because no matter how much she apologized, Regina wouldn't allow her in the wedding now.

And so now they were driving home. The car was silent, and the trip was quick. Henry went straight to bed, and Regina grabbed a bottle of cider, then went to bed. Emma grabbed her own bottle and followed her and they sat on the bed and drank for most of the next hour, complaining about Emma's parents before they both passed out from cider and exhaustion on top of the blankets.

….

The morning came far too quickly, but since it was Sunday, no one bothered to get out of bed, except Henry. He jumped out of bed as soon as he woke and got dressed quickly. He had a mission to complete, and he might just have figured out the perfect solution.

He quietly left the house (using the door this time) leaving a note on his door for his moms. He headed for Granny's to get a quick breakfast and to talk to Granny herself. When he walked in, he was the only customer, apparently a lot of the town had decided to sleep in this Sunday. He took a seat at the counter, it wouldn't make sense for a waitress to have to walk over to him at a booth.

Granny herself came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel and looked at him over her glasses, "Henry, why are you alone so often lately?"

Henry smiled and told her, "everyone is sleeping in today".

Granny huffed in annoyance, "well not me. Work still needs done. I don't suppose you would fetch Ruby for me again would you?"

"Actually, I would like to talk to you about Ruby maybe not being a waitress anymore…" He made a face of anxiousness while he waited for her reaction.

Granny leaned on the counter in front of him and narrowed her eyes at him, "does this have anything to do with why she ran off last night and didn't return?" He nodded quickly. "And does this also have to do with that Lorelei girl?" He nodded again. She sighed heavily and stood upright. "Well, let's get you some pancakes and cocoa and then we will figure this thing out."

Henry nodded happily as she went to make his breakfast. "I have it all figured out! I just need someone to convince Ruby… and I need an adult for a little while…" Granny glanced at him suspiciously before heading to the kitchen.

…..

When Emma woke up, she was tangled in sheets and a Regina. She smiled before wincing in pain from the splitting headache she deserved for the cider she drank too much of. She then moaned and buried her head back in a pillow.

Regina moaned in pain at the same sort of headache as she squeezed her eyes shut again, "I have never drank an entire bottle before…"

Emma sighed deeply before replying, "I never thought drinking a whole bottle was possible… I only managed half of mine before you finished yours…"

Regina scooted herself until she was nose to nose with the blonde woman, opening her eyes just enough to see her, "Emma, if I help you, with my magic, do you think you can copy it and do it to me?"

Emma opened one eye a crack to see the extremely disheveled woman laying in front of her. "I can try, what're you going to do?"

Regina didn't answer she just put a hand on Emma's temple and slowly used her magic to take Emma's hangover away. "Did you catch that, please say you did."

Emma opened her eyes, feeling perfectly fine. "I think so, let me try." She put her hand on Regina's temple and concentrated to emulate what the woman had done. When she finished, Regina opened her eyes and smiled at her.

"Almost dear, but it is much better, a couple aspirin and I will be good to go." She kissed the younger woman firmly before rolling off the bed. She made a disgusted sound when she saw herself in the mirror. They were still wearing the clothes they had thrown on in the middle of the night and both women needed a shower. She began removing clothing as she walked to the bathroom, all to aware of the eyes staring at her movements. She added a few extra bounces and stretches just to hear the breathing behind her pick up pace. She glanced behind her as she stood naked at the doorway to the bathroom, "don't be all day dear, I'm not going to wait in here forever…" And she walked into the shower, hearing the sound of Emma falling and tripping to remove her clothes and get to the shower quickly.

Emma stepped in to the increasingly steamy shower to wrap her arms around the woman currently letting the hot water run over her. She started kissing at the back of her neck and her hands slid down wet sides before Regina turned in her arms to kiss her passionately. "How are we going to wash if you keep making things worse?" Her words sounded serious, but the way Regina was staring into Emma's eyes said she didn't mean a word of it.

"Worse? Or better?" Emma replied as she ran her hands down to cup the brunettes beautiful bottom. Regina gave a small gasp of surprise before tangling her hands in the messy blonde hair and kissing Emma forcefully.

Regina pulled back before Emma could shift her hands to where she wanted them the most, giving her a curious look. "Is something wrong?"

Regina bit her lip before removing the younger womans hands and holding them at her sides. She smiled salaciously at Emma and leaned in to whisper in a deeper than usual voice right next to her ear, "I believe you had your chance last night dear… But I never did get mine…"

Emma gave her a wide eyed look before it melted into shock, and then changing into a fluttery eyed look of lust as Regina lowered herself to her knees, directly in front of Emma. With one hand holding herself up with a death grip on the shower shelf, and the other tangled in wet brunette locks, it wasn't going to take very long. Emma tried very hard not to make too much noise, but that was quickly found to be entirely impossible. Regina knew exactly what she was doing and in what Emma thought was an embarrassingly short time, she was calling out the womans name combined with several expletives. She wasn't aware Regina had stood up until she pulled Emma into an intense kiss that promised so much more.

Regina made sure Emma was going to remain standing before turning and actually washing. Once she was done, she gave Emma one final, heated kiss before getting out and beginning to get ready for the day. Emma, however, remained in a sort of daze for several minutes after the very talented mayor had left the shower. She did manage to wash at some point and climbed out on still shaky legs to also get ready for the day. She found Regina sitting in a towel on the edge of the disheveled bed, rubbing lotion into her impossibly perfectly toned legs. She sighed in appreciation and took two steps towards her before Regina glanced at her, raising a brow, "Don't you dare come over here. What you've had already this morning will have to hold you over until later tonight. I have things to be done Miss Swan."

Emma smirked at her and let her own towel drop, she then found another bottle of lotion and began rubbing it into her own leg that she propped up on the nightstand. She began humming as if she had no idea Regina had stopped rubbing her own lotion in.

Regina stood and took one step before Emma held up a finger pointed at her, "Uh uh, madame mayor. I have things to do today and I won't be made late by you."

Regina gave her a very evil queen sneer and walked right by her, heading to the closet, "please, you would beg me to make you late if you thought I might…"

Emma decided not to comment again because, well, she had been internally wishing very hard that Regina would make her late…


	28. Chapter 28

**Two chapters in one night. I'm on a roll. As always, the reviews are appreciated!**

Chapter 28

Emma left the bedroom first, she gave up on the lotion and used magic for clothing. She needed to get her things from the loft, but she really just needed to leave the room before Regina put on her second silk stocking. The first one had been enough to give Emma a mild heart attack and judging by the dark chuckle she heard as she left, Regina knew exactly what she was doing.

She was going to wake Henry but found a note on his door that said:

Moms, I am heading out because I am hungry and you guys are still asleep. I will be going to Granny's and you can txt me when you wake up.

P.S. Lorelei is not involved at this time, so don't worry.

Emma rolled her eyes before heading to the kitchen. She left the note on the door, Regina would just ask to read it anyway. She started a pot of coffee and found a couple aspirin for Regina to take. Toast was sounding really good so she started searching for bread.

"Emma, Henry left this morning before we woke up!" Regina had come barreling into the kitchen waving the note at her.

Emma nodded and gave up on bread. She instead poured two cups of coffee and sat them down on the counter in front of the stools. She then took the note from Regina's startled hands and forced her to sit on a stool. "Regina, for like, one hour I just want nice, calm and quiet, okay?" Regina stared at her like a lunatic. "Please, you know as soon as we walk out the front door, we will have to face the world and it's going to suck."

"Emma, our son ran off, again. Your mother got Belle pregnant. Lorelei is running around town, probably causing more pregnancies, and STD's. We cannot just sit here and sip coffee!" She tried to stand but Emma pushed her back down on the stool.

"One hour. Please Gina. One hour, staring at the most beautiful woman the realms have to offer. One hour of sipping coffee and talking about… I don't know… blue birds or some shit."

Regina laughed but relaxed a little, pulling her cup of coffee closer, "one hour Emma. Do not call me Gina ever again. If the town burns down in that hour, it's your fault. And if you want to talk about blue birds, call your ridiculous mother. She has a thing with the birds. Did you know, when she was little…" Emma sat on her own stool and listened to stories of when her mother was a little girl. Of course, it was Regina's point of view so Snow came out looking like a demented child who was possessed by St. Francis of Assisi, but it was still nice. For one hour, they just sat and sipped coffee.

…..

Lorelei woke with a start; she had been having a nightmare. No surprise, it involved Hades and a cliff. It always did. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she often had nightmares about how her life ended. They weren't always the same, but the main theme was still there. She had loved him with all her heart and soul and he had sentenced her to death.

Shaking herself slightly, she carefully removed herself from the still softly sleeping Ruby. She headed to the bathroom and stared in the mirror for a few minutes, steadying herself from the nightmare. She reminded herself, just like she always had after this nightmare, that is what comes from loving someone too much. Pain, death, and betrayal. As she reminded herself of this, she couldn't help but glance out at the sleeping woman. She loved her. She didn't want to, but she did. She would never admit it out loud, but she did. For the millionth time since it had connected, she attempted to touch (and break) the true love thread shooting out of her heart. She gave up, sighing, because she could never touch these threads. In so many thousands of years, she couldn't touch the damn things and that means she couldn't break them either.

She quietly crept back into the main room, slowly gathering clothing to wear. She got all the way to pulling a shirt over her head before she heard a voice from the bed, "were you planning on telling me you were leaving?"

Grimacing she turned to look at her, "I was not. I was going to let you sleep."

Ruby sat up, from the way she looked, she had been awake at least as long as the siren. "Lorelei, I'm trying to be, like, patient, I guess. But seriously, this should be common sense shit. You need to say something before you leave. Like, if you really don't want to tell me where you're going, fine. Whatever. But you could at least say bye, or see you later, or peace out bitches, something!"

Lorelei buttoned her pants, listening with a slight frown. She walked over and sat down beside Red who was leaning on the head board, still very much naked. "I don't really understand why… but if you want me to let you know when I am leaving, I think I can manage that much." She took a few moments to study the woman's bare body then.

Smiling at her, Ruby told her, "you know, if wherever you're headed isn't terribly important…"

Lorelei met her eyes as she let the sentence trail off, licking her lips before being able to speak. "I actually don't remember exactly where I was going sooo…"

Ruby grinned wolfishly and pulled her in by her shirt, kissing her aggressively. "Then you should stay."

The clothing she had just put on was back on the floor in record time. And nearly two hours later, they were laying on their sides, facing each other and breathing heavily. Ruby was tracing runes on the sirens chest while Lorelei played with strands of the wild hair spread out on the pillows. She was beginning to think this was her favorite part about the woman, this hair. It was thick, but silky. So long and the perfect mix of dark reds and brown.

"Lorelei…" Ruby began but then bit her lower lip, frowning slightly.

Looking down at her, Lorelei answered, "whatever it is, and I know there is something bothering you, tell me." She stopped playing with the hair and lifted the womans chin so she could look at her eyes. She loved her eyes. Maybe that was her favorite part about her. But then she glanced at her lips, that was her favorite part, those incredibly soft lips.

Ruby stopped her tracing and moved so she was level with Lorelei's eyes. "What do you feel, exactly… I mean for me. Like, what is this?" She gestured to the two of them.

Lorelei frowned and pursed her lips, thinking before answering, "I thought we figured this out already. We are in a relationship, girlfriends."

Ruby chewed her lip nervously before saying the very last thing the siren wanted to hear, "Lorelei, I'm in love with you. And, I really need to know if there is some chance, maybe that you could feel the same…?"

Blank faced and slightly wide eyed she swallowed before answering, "well… I mean… we haven't really been together very long. And, I think we just barely decided we are even in a relationship. So, really, it's not even possible to be in love with me yet." She knew that sounded like shit, but she had been put on the spot here. Maybe her lips weren't her favorite part, her lips let words out, words that Lorelei didn't particularly want to think about.

Ruby sighed, obviously disappointed, "oh. Yeah, well maybe it is a bit too soon. But, I am in love with you. I thought you might… it's fine." She frowned, breaking eye contact and shaking her head a little.

Inside her chest, Lorelei felt her heart twist at watching Ruby hurt like this. It wasn't fair to her. She was perfect, and Lorelei was far from it. In fact, she thought to herself, I should never have let this woman anywhere near me. She began preparing lines to say to break this thing off and hopefully the sooner the better so Ruby could heal and get over it as quick as possible. She began planning where she could run off to that would give Ruby as much space as possible from her…

She was violently interrupted in her thoughts by a slap on her chest. "Hey! What the hell was that for?!"

Ruby was slightly red faced and more than slightly angry, "I know what you were thinking, and you are not going to do that to me."

Lorelei cocked a brow at this psycho as she rubbed her chest to soothe the slap mark. "And what the hell exactly do you think I was thinking? I'm fairly confident you are not psychic."

Ruby growled angrily as she got off the bed, muttering under her breath as she began dressing. Lorelei stared after her confused beyond all reason for a few moments before getting up and getting dressed herself. "Where are you going?"

Ruby laughed loudly, "oh my god _you_ of all people did not just ask _me_ that question."

Looking around wildly in more confusion, Lorelei struggled into her clothes quickly and got her boots on just as the door slammed behind Ruby storming out. She shouted angrily, "Bye, see you later bitches!" before tying up her laces and storming out also slamming the door.

….

Henry jumped as the diner door was thrown open, the bells nearly falling off, as Ruby stormed into the diner. She looked a mess, her hair was everywhere and her waitress outfit was wrinkled and kind of twisted looking. He watched, silently as she stormed behind the counter and started rolling silverware that must have wronged her in some way based on the violence she rolled them with.

Granny came out of the back in a huff, giving Henry his second cocoa. He had finished his pancakes a little while ago and as soon as the other waitress go there, she was leaving with him. "There you are, Ruby. I'm actually surprised, you're only two and a half hours late today."

Ruby didn't even stop or turn to face her when she said, "I'm here now so leave me alone okay."

Granny huffed at her before turning back to the kitchen angrily. Ruby threw down the silverware she was rolling and Henry heard her breathing jaggedly. She was crying. He jumped off his stool and ran around the counter, before she knew he was there, he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

She jumped in shock before giving in and hugging him back tightly for a few moments. When he pulled away, she wiped her tears on a napkin and smiled down at him, "thank you Henry, I actually really needed that one."

He smiled sadly up at her and asked, "what did she do?"

Ruby frowned at him, but then remembered the tattoo he had and she moved him back around to sit at the counter, sitting next to him and leaning in close. "Henry, you know what she is feeling right now, please tell me?"

Henry grimaced, "she is like, super confusing. Sometimes, when she feels one or two things, I can pick it out and I know what it is. But usually, it's like trying to decide which speck of dirt is which in a tornado." He shrugged in apology. "A little while ago it was a sort of quiet contented feeling, before that it was all heat and ten thousand different things."

Ruby blushed, realizing the time frame he was talking about. "Yeah, uhm, after the quiet part. What came next?"

He thought about it before answering, "It's weird, because I thought, at first that after the quiet there was a really intense fear, but she isn't scared of anything so that couldn't have been right. And then it was anger, and maybe confusion. And then it all exploded and I had to kind of block it before I threw up because it gets over whelming."

Ruby had tears in her eyes again and he snatched a napkin off the counter and handed it to her. She smiled and laughed a little, confusing him. How could you cry, laugh and smile at the same time? Maybe Lorelei wasn't confusing, maybe all women were. "Thank you. I just, I don't know what she actually feels. Like, I think I do, but then she completely flips."

Henry nodded, "yeah, she does that. I don't think she is very good at letting her emotions out. When she was around Cora, she sort of let her in. I mean she would talk with her, and share secrets and stuff. She didn't seem to have a problem showing her how she felt." At the look of defeat on Ruby's face he quickly continued, "but, that was before she took on the power needed to defeat Hades. After that, she was a bit more, confusing and she destroyed Cora… When she looks at you I don't think she could do that to you. No matter what state her mind is in. Maybe she should see Archie."

Ruby laughed at him and gave him a quick hug, wiping the rest of the tears off. "Yeah maybe. I just wish I could have that tattoo of yours for like, ten minutes."

He held up his palm and looked at the mark there, "I think it's a limited edition, sorry. But, I do have a couple ideas that I am working on right now. If Granny asks you to watch the diner, please do. Oh, and don't run off."

She stood, nudging his shoulder, "well if someone didn't text me maybe I wouldn't run out mid shift." She winked and went back to rolling napkins, calmer this time. Granny came out from the back, rolling her shoulders and standing up straight.

"Ruby, I am leaving for a while. I need you to watch the diner and try not to run off." Granny seemed to steel herself for a fight.

Ruby shrugged and just said, "okay."

Granny blinked repeatedly before squinting at her suspiciously. "That's it? It's that simple?"

Ruby turned and smiled at her, "Yeah, go."

Granny nodded as if she had won a battle and waved at Henry to move. He jumped up and said bye to Ruby before he and Granny left the diner. "I don't know what that Lorelei has done to her. She has been an absolute roller coaster since she met her."

Henry shrugged, "they love each other, Ruby admitted it, Lorelei won't admit it."

Granny nodded, "well then, let's put your plan into action. The sooner we get them sorted out, the sooner things can settle down around here."

Henry nodded and they set off down the street, headed for the rabbit hole.

….

Regina wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, she couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard for so long. She shook her head, smiling brightly at Emma. "I love you so much."

Emma wiped her own tears, still giggling. "I love you too." They had spent the past hour telling stories and laughing. But, it was time to face the world now. Emma, still smiling, took both cups to the sink and rinsed them out before stretching. "Okay, now we can face the outside world."

Regina sighed, also standing. "Yes, I suppose we can." She went to the closet by the door to grab their jackets. Emma reached past her and grabbed Regina's from her hand. She turned to face her, confused. Emma smiled and held it up for her to put it on. Regina smiled at her and once she had shrugged in to it she gave her an appreciative kiss. "Thank you, you're suddenly so sweet and…" She cut off before she had accidently said that word.

Emma grinned at her, "and what? I didn't catch that last part."

Regina scrunched her face and said, "charming."

Emma laughed, "that's right. And as a Charming, we need to mend some fences with the other Charmings."

Regina groaned loudly and leaned heavily against the door frame, "Emma, I cannot speak to those people ever again. I cannot do it. It will kill me, is that what you want? Do you want me to die?"

Emma just smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace, "I do not want you to die. I proved that when I gave you half my heart remember? I do however want us to be one big happy family."

Regina bit her ear lobe playfully before telling her, "if it does kill me I will haunt you and your entire family."

Emma laughed and kissed her before saying, "at least you'll be with us then, even if it is in ghost form."

They headed out the door, Emma smiling and Regina groaning and complaining. First stop was Granny's to find Henry. When they walked in there were only a few people and a new waitress waiting on everyone. They stopped her and Emma asked, "have you seen Henry?"

The woman frowned and answered, "no, he hasn't been here. Well, not since I have been, maybe ask Ruby?"

Regina swore under her breath. If Ruby was here and Henry was not, that likely meant he was with the siren and they were playing with matches somewhere because no one was supervising. They waited while the waitress went to the back and Ruby came out, smiling at them. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Regina answered, "we're looking for Henry."

"Oh, he was here, he left with Granny. But I'm not sure where they went." Ruby replied, looking slightly confused by what she just said.

Emma frowned looking at Regina, "what the hell could Henry be doing with Granny?"

Regina sighed, motioning for the door, "I don't know Emma, he's your son today." Emma laughed and tried to text him again, but he still hadn't responded from earlier.

"Well, maybe we should find the siren, he seems to gravitate to her." Emma said as they walked out of the diner. Regina nodded and they glanced at each other and said in unison, "rabbit hole". Regina couldn't imagine Granny going to the dingy bar, but if they were trying to find the siren, that was the best bet.

If they had taken the time to look around however, they might have seen a woman, covered in silver runes, staring at the diner from beside the building across the street.

Lorelei had thought to run off and get drunk before noon, but when she saw Belle heading into the diner, just after Henry left with Granny, she had decided to hang around for a while.

Belle had taken a seat by the window and Ruby had sat with her for a while after getting her a cup of coffee. She was incredibly distraught by the events at the loft. She couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that her husband had taken their unborn, barely created child to the underworld to prevent it from growing. The fact that Snow had essentially re-impregnated her with said child was another matter entirely. She could only focus on one at a time.

Ruby smiled at her and held her hand from across the table, "I know you have always looked for the good in him, so this time you might want to think about how he didn't want his child growing up without him…" She was trying, but Rumple was a horrible creature and there really was no excuse for him and the things he's done.

Belle shook her head, "no, even I can't find a silver lining in this one." She shook her head sadly before asking Ruby, "speaking of a silver lining, how are things going for you two?"

Ruby snorted and stood up to sit down beside Belle instead. "Well, let me start at the beginning…" She started her story, occasionally Belle would hug her, or Ruby would hug Belle as they comforted each other.

Of course, Lorelei heard none of the words. She could only watch as Ruby held her hand, and watch as Ruby switched seats to sit next to her. And when she watched them start hugging each other, she had decided she was going to stand here all day if she had to. If it took all day, she was going to remind herself why loving someone could only end in hurt and betrayal. She deserved this torture of watching Ruby with Belle for getting herself tangled up in the woman to begin with. How had she managed to forget what the nightmares reminded her every time she slept? How, after so many thousands of years practicing not getting too attached, how did she let this happen? Cora had been the closest thing she had let herself have to actual love. That had been easy enough to maintain, Cora was independent and she didn't give a shit when Lorelei disappeared. And more importantly, the siren hadn't cared if Cora disappeared for large spans of time.

So then, why had she let herself grow so attached to Ruby? She could feel the pain in her chest every time she saw the two women embrace or laugh together. Well, this would teach her the lesson she should have learned a very long time ago. True love is a tool used to cause pain and loss. Maybe if she let Ruby see what she saw… No, even if she could do that without her magic, Ruby already said she loved her and yet here she was carrying on with someone else. At some point, Belle stood to leave as Ruby returned to working. Lorelei watched Belle walking away from the diner, as she walked away, Regina and Emma walked in. The siren watched as they left, and she watched Ruby moving around the diner, oblivious to the pain she had caused.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Henry and Granny walked in to the rabbit hole which was empty since it was still before noon. There was a bartender wiping down shelves and Henry took a seat at the bar, Granny standing behind him. The bartender had heard them come in and as he turned he said, "what can I get for you…" His eyes landed and Henry and he leaned towards him whispering playfully, "let me guess, you want a vodka tonic?"

Henry laughed as the man put his towel down and leaned on the bar comfortably. "I could do with just a water please." He turned to get a glass of water and Henry decided to just jump right in to the reason they were here. "I have noticed that no one really likes this place. Well, they still come here, but it's not much fun. I bet, if you had a DJ people would have more fun, and more people would come here, which would make more money for you." He finished with a smile as the man handed him the glass of water.

"Hey, I bet you're right. Someone should hire a DJ." He leaned on the bar top again and just grinned at Henry.

Henry was confused, "so… I know one you could hire. She is really gifted with music and I bet she could pack this place with people having fun."

The barman just nodded, still grinning. Granny decided to step in, "well? Are you interested in hiring a DJ or not?" She crossed her arms and glared at him.

The man stood up and sighed, "here's the thing, I agree completely, but there is a problem with your plan kid. I'm just a bartender. I am one of the bartenders I should say, this is my shift. We also got a few waitresses, although I'm not sure why because this place doesn't really get busy. The point is, I get paid hourly. If you want to hire people, you need to talk to the owner."

Granny rolled her eyes at him, "and where is the owner?"

The man smiled, "why, Mr. Gold of course. Doesn't he own everything?"

Henry jumped up, pulling Granny along towards the door, "that's awesome! This is going to be way easier than I thought!"

Granny frowned, trying to avoid a table as he rushed her out the door, "how is that a good thing? Mr. Gold is vile and I'm pretty sure he isn't coming back around anytime soon."

Henry opened the door and as they hit the sidewalk again he grinned at her, "exactly! Which means that his wife now owns all of his property!"

Granny smiled and picked up her pace following him, "well let's hurry up then! Belle will gladly help us sort those two out!" And so they rushed around the corner of the street, heading for the pawn shop first, and when there was no one there, they shot for the library. They got to the library as Emma and Regina were walking towards them, headed to find Henry.

When Henry got to them he reached in his pocket confused, because he had expected they would call or text when they got up. He then realized, he didn't have his phone. He grimaced hard, realizing he was about to be in trouble.

"Henry, you are either very lucky, or very smart." Regina said as she stopped in front of the library, arms crossed.

"I must have left my phone at home, I'm really sorry. But, I wasn't getting in trouble, I was with Granny."

Emma laughed a little, "yeah, the fact that you're with Granny and not Lorelei probably just saved your life."

"What exactly are you doing though?" Regina asked, letting him off easy for forgetting his phone.

Henry bounced a little bit before he excitedly told them his grand plan to get the siren a DJ job, and then get Ruby a job there too. Granny nodded in approval once he told the story and plan properly and then she said her good byes, heading back to the diner. Her job was to get him an audience at the rabbit hole without being told he was a kid and to get out.

Regina sighed, rolling her eyes, "she really is not your responsibility, Henry. But I can see you are going to insist. In the interest of getting her settled so she maybe won't force you to sneak out at 4 am…" she frowned at him, reminding him how lucky he has gotten lately with getting out of trouble. "we will help you with this plan of yours."

Emma snorted, "yeah because Lorelei working at the rabbit hole is a great plan. I mean, how much trouble could she get in with unlimited amounts of alcohol and women around? Oh and Ruby being there too, that's good, I mean who would get in to jealous rage filled booze soaked fights with the women the siren hits on if Ruby wasn't there?" She finished throwing her hands up in mock joy.

"It won't go like that. Lorelei will have something to do, and so will Ruby, and she can keep an eye on her all night too. It's perfect." Henry explained as he walked into the library. He found Belle sitting at a desk, staring at some dusty old book. "Hi Belle."

She looked up, slightly startled to see the three of them standing there, "Henry, what're you guys doing here?"

"I need you to hire Lorelei as a DJ for the rabbit hole, and then hire Ruby too. I don't know if she would rather be a server or bartender, whichever she wants I guess." He smiled brightly at her.

"Uh…" Belle closed her book and looked at him sideways, "why exactly do you think I can do any of that?"

Regina decided to step in and quickly explained to Belle that since they had decided Mr. Gold is dead, she now owned all of his property and possessions, including the rabbit hole. "So, technically you are in charge of hiring. Have you not been collecting rent from tenants and shop owners?"

Belle was looking somewhat overwhelmed at this point but she managed to respond, "well, he had set up a bank account, the tenants and shop owners deposited their money for rent into the bank. He only collected from the people he wanted to harass." She frowned and shook her head at that. She really had thought he could change… "the bank would call the pawn shop phone and leave a message if anyone failed to pay. So far, I guess everyone has been keeping up." She shrugged.

"Cool, so, hire them?" Henry pushed.

Belle frowned thoughtfully, "I have to look in to the account first. I don't know how anything works there. I do know that she could live in the apartment upstairs, it's where I lived when I… well… when I was Lacy." She blushed, remembering the experience of being that woman.

Henry frowned then, "if Lorelei moves in there, then I will have to let Granny know when she fires Ruby to also kick her out of the inn. We can't have them living in separate places…" He trailed off lost in thought.

"Okay, wait. Granny is just gonna fire Ruby and then poof Belle hires her? That's a horrible idea! Ruby is gonna be a mess!" Emma shouted as she pulled her phone out to call the diner. "Granny? Yeah hi, it's Emma. Please do not fire her, tell her about the bartender or server job and like suggest she switch jobs or something. And holy shit, do not kick her out of the inn. What is even wrong with you people?" She nodded and rolled her eyes as she listened and then said "thank you, good bye." She then put her phone away again. "Ok, one crisis diverted, what's the next part of this plan Henry?"

Henry shrugged, "that's it. Get them jobs together in the bar, where Lorelei loves to be and they will figure it out after that."

Regina snorted in a darkly amused way, "I highly doubt it. Those women are two halves of a disaster."

"Belle? Please hire them?" Henry asked again, using his puppy dog eyes.

Belle chewed her lip but then smiled at him, "okay Henry, enough with the eyes already. I will hire them. Tell them to come find me when they are ready to get started." She suddenly thought of something, "do you think Lorelei knows how to use the equipment?"

Henry shrugged, "if she doesn't, I do and I will teach her."

Regina rolled her eyes, "yes because you hanging out in a bar teaching the siren how to play music is exactly what I dreamed you would do one day." He smiled at her and they left the library, it was almost lunch time and the two women were hungry.

…

Lorelei watched the three people walking towards the diner and hoped the boy wouldn't see her. Of course, she wasn't very lucky today so he spotted her and seemed to convince his mothers to go inside without him. He came jogging over, beaming at her happily even as she glared at him.

"There you are! I have amazing news for you! I got you a job." Henry waited for something, but she just stared at him. All he felt coming from her was irritation and a sort of coldness.

"Boy, I do not want a job. I will not take a job, and I will not do a job so having a job isn't going to work for me." She attempted to find Ruby in the diner again, but the woman must have gone to the back rooms again.

"It's a Dj job at the rabbit hole, and there is an apartment you can live in there too."

That got her attention. She raised a brow at him, "a DJ? All I have to do is play music?" He nodded excitedly. "I will… consider it." She was going to push him away but then she caught sight of Ruby, talking to Emma and Regina. Emma pointed right out the window at the siren Ruby saw her standing there, shaking her head and seeming to talk angrily. She growled, leaving her watching post. "Great, thanks a lot boy. I might as well see about this job bull shit now."

He looked from the diner to her and then asked, "were you seriously stalking Ruby?"

"No. I was simply remembering something." She started walking and asked him when he caught up, "who do I have to talk to for this job?"

"Belle, she's at the library. You were stalking her. Why though?" He immediately felt a spike of fear from her, and a shot of heat before the coldness surged up and everything else faded.

"I wasn't stalking her. I don't care what she is doing or who with. I was simply relaxing there." She headed for the library, hoping the boy would go back to the diner. No such luck though.

"You do care, you're just trying not to. Why do you keep lying to me when you know I can see what you feel?" He gasped and nearly jumped backwards as she stopped and rounded on him, looking him right in the eye.

"Little boy, I do not care what I feel. It doesn't matter, never has. The problem is you do not understand what you are feeling from me. If you actually knew how to read the emotions you would understand. But you don't, and you don't understand what I have been through or why I can't let her in." She sighed deeply and turned to continue walking to the library.

Henry managed to recover from the shock and caught up to her again, "I don't understand a lot of things, and I know that. I'm not exactly experienced with relationships, or girls." He blushed slightly before continuing. "But I do know a lot about loving people…" He glanced at her, but she still looked irritated and felt cold. "She loves you. I don't know why every time you hear that you feel fear but, it's not a bad thing. There's nothing to be scared of… she's not him." He felt a warmth seeping through the coldness from her. Her face was still unreadable but he decided it was a good start so he dropped it and walked with her to the library in silence.

Walking in, Belle was still seated at the desk. As soon as Lorelei saw her there was a flash of jealousy and anger, but it wasn't showing on her face as she smiled at Belle. "Belle, I have been told you have a job for me. And also, a place to live?"

Belle nodded and closed her book, "yes, but then I thought I should make sure you can do the job. I mean, just because you like music doesn't mean you can play it."

A sharp stab of rage made Henry wince a little as Lorelei just smiled and nodded at her, "fine. How can I prove my… abilities?"

Belle chewed her lip in thought, "I don't actually know…"

Henry interjected, "how about she DJ's tonight? You can sort of interview how she does. It's Sunday night so it won't be very busy."

Belle nodded, "Okay. Tonight. I will expect you by seven?"

Lorelei chuckled, "Eight. I want to have dinner first." Belle nodded and Henry and the siren left the library. They headed back towards the diner. She was lost enough in her thoughts that she didn't realize they were at the diner door until Henry opened it and the bell jingled. Well, she would look stupid if she walked away now. Might as well face the woman. She walked in like she owned the place and took a seat next to Henry in the booth across from his moms.

"Henry, we really need to talk about you wandering off." Regina muttered to him as she glared at Lorelei.

Henry looked genuine when he apologized, "I'm sorry, but Lorelei wanted to talk to Belle. Good news, she gets to try out for the job tonight at eight."

They continued talking, but Lorelei was lost staring at the waitress heading straight for their table. "What can I get you two?" She said it in a normal tone, but she didn't meet the siren's eyes.

Henry ordered and looked at Lorelei but she just muttered, "nothing." Ruby said okay and rushed off.

Emma kicked the siren lightly under the table, "you did something to piss her off."

Lorelei glared at the blonde, kicking her back not as softly, "no I didn't. She pissed herself off."

Regina sighed, "you're an idiot. Miss Lucas is the best thing you could hope for. What you need to do is apologize and tell her you're sorry that you upset her." She grimaced as Emma looked at her in surprise.

"Why, Regina, are you giving out love advice? My god woman, you really do care!" Emma teased her.

Rolling her eyes she responded, "these two are becoming my personal soap opera. I just want them to stop wasting time fighting when they could be together and happy. It's ridiculous to see two people love each other and fight instead of admitting it." She sipped at her cup of tea as Henry looked at her incredulously.

"You mean the way you and Emma wasted time?" He said.

Regina nodded slowly, "that could have something to do with it I suppose."

Ruby came back and gave Henry his order, completely ignoring Lorelei. She walked away without saying anything at all. Henry sighed, "you need to do something… like… big."

Lorelei frowned at him, "and what, precisely could you possibly suggest?"

Henry thought for a little while before answering, "you could sing something to her, you're pretty good at that."

"That does seem to be your only positive attribute." Regina added.

Lorelei smirked at her, "no, I have one other redeeming ability…"

Emma kicked her hard under the table, making Lorelei yelp. "You need to knock this shit off. It pisses me off and it makes you look bad in front of Ruby. Rule number one, you don't flirt with other women."

Lorelei rubbed her shin, glaring at Emma, "yeah well rule number one is impossible. Besides, she has been flirting with Belle all morning."

Henry gasped, "you were stalking her! I knew it. They are seriously just friends, as a matter of fact, Belle is gonna offer Ruby a job at the rabbit hole too so you two can work together and be together."

"What?" Ruby had walked up while Henry was talking.

Henry stared at her, not really knowing what to say. So, Lorelei spoke in his place, "Ruby would not take a job there, even if she did she couldn't handle it. She would probably get fired in a week."

Ruby made a growling noise and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "actually, Granny told me about a job there. She said it would pay more so I could even get a decent apartment if I wanted. I just got off the phone with Belle and I start as a bartender tonight at seven." She raised her brows at Lorelei in challenge, the siren shrugged and took Henry's soda, sipping happily until she stormed off.

"Are you suicidal? That was the opposite of apologizing." Henry snatched his soda back from her angrily.

Lorelei shrugged, stealing a couple of his fries, "and yet, she will be there tonight." She jumped up to leave the diner.

"Where are you going?" Henry asked her.

Lorelei looked at him sideways before answering, "to plan something big, like you said."

Henry sighed and slumped in his seat, closing his eyes. "She is seriously going to be the death of me."

Emma and Regina traded glances before laughing together at him. He just glared at them as they laughed. Ruby smiled hearing them laughing. At least some people could manage a happy ending.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Some of Henry's classmates had come in to the diner and asked Henry to go with them to play basketball and he had run off as soon as Regina nodded. She sat with Emma, sipping her tea while Emma sipped at her coffee. They were just enjoying sitting and being near each other, right up until Snow and David sat down in their booth across from them.

Regina groaned loudly and rolled her eyes so hard, Emma was surprised they hadn't flown out the window. Snow narrowed her eyes at the eye roll, "nice to see you too Regina."

David smiled tightly at Emma, apology written on his face. Emma sighed before jumping in. "Hi mom, dad. What's up?"

Regina looked at Emma incredulously, "what's up? They want to talk about the wedding they are no longer invited to Emma. Obviously, they want to weasel back in to it and apologize for going crazy last night. Or maybe they want to talk about Snow getting Belle…" Snow cut her off with a loud throaty sound.

"No. We are not talking about that… incident. Ever. " She closed her eyes and shook her head. "No not ever, it didn't happen. What we actually wanted to talk about," she cleared her throat, smiling politely at Emma, "is the coronation."

Emma jumped when Regina barked a loud laugh but asked quickly, "what the hell is that?"

Snow glared at her before focusing on Emma again. "Well, you are my daughter and therefore a princess, but there is a coronation ceremony that is usually done to heirs when they are very young. Since you are getting married," She did a weird tilting head thing before continuing, "you need to be properly crowned as princess of the white kingdom. Then you will be a princess by rights and you will be able to marry Regina who is… technically… the queen of the dark kingdom."

Regina shook her head, "this isn't the enchanted forest. Titles don't matter. You just want some sort of control over this whole thing."

Emma decided to interrupt before this escalated. "Okay, Regina's right, this isn't the white kingdom, or the enchanted forest okay."

David winced before adding, "well, yeah but… we all sort of agreed, as a town that we need to uphold some of the more royal customs just in case we get sent back again. So, maintaining the royal line is kind of important."

Emma let her head fall on the table, groaning loudly. She was done with this fairy tale royal bull shit. "SO what you're saying is, if I don't let you give me the princess crown party, if we are sent back to fairytale land… than what happens?"

Regina sighed and held a hand up to Snow stopping her from speaking, "it means if we get married before you are crowned, then if we end up back in the enchanted forest, and something…" she smiled wickedly at Snow, "terribly tragic happened to your parents, there would be a succession war because you would be my wife, and not the princess. So the white kingdom would have no ruler. Of course, I would simply ride in and claim the lands and make them part of my kingdom as they should be…"

Snow nodded, ignoring the last part of Regina's words. "that's right, you have to be crowned as our heir before you marry her in case something happens to us."

Emma groaned again, "and I suppose you have to crown me?" Snow nodded. "And I suppose you have a deal to make in order to do that?" Snow nodded again. "Fucking fabulous. What is it?"

Snow smiled, "well, first of all, you two stop living together until after the wedding."

Regina shook her head, "no I'm sorry, I have grown too accustomed to defiling her at all hours of the night and day for us to live apart." Emma chuckled, but blushed, keeping her eyes down.

Snow blushed, " Seriously? You can't stop… that… for a few weeks?!"

Regina shrugged, and sipped her tea before answering, "well, no. I suppose Emma could move back to the loft. But, of course that means you will need ear plugs… really good ones too. The last time w were so loud…" She sipped her tea as Snow pushed David out of the booth, rushing out the door angrily.

Emma kissed her even while she giggled, "you are the most evil person I have ever met. I love you."

Regina was trying not to laugh also, and also failing, she kissed her back, "I didn't think you felt like talking about crowns today, so I got rid of her, do you mind?"

Emma smiled at her, "nope. In fact, if you could just do that everytime she mentions crowns and princesses, that'd be great. However, I need to get along with them. Maybe tomorrow I will go talk with them."

Regina sighed, "well, I will try to be more civil. But I make no promises."

"Deal." Emma kissed her again and they just sat and talked and sipped coffee and tea. The world would have to wait some more.

…..

It was almost time, and everybody was getting ready. Regina and Emma were getting dressed and ready to head to the bar. They wanted to see Lorelei in action. Even Regina could admit she was somewhat looking forward to it. Emma had even asked her out, as if it were some cute date. Henry was already there, under Ruby's supervision. She was supposed to keep an eye on him while he showed Lorelei how to work the equipment.

They managed to finish getting ready, even after Emma had interrupted by putting her hands under Regina's dress, instead of zipping it up. They headed out for date night.

Ruby got to the bar early, ready to prove to Lorelei that she could handle anything. She was still furious at the woman for her behavior earlier. She could see it in her eyes, she was going to run. She knew that look because she has had that look and been given that look too many times. She fully intended to sleep beside her tonight… but she wanted to make sure Lorelei knew she was mad. She was wiping glasses and listening to the other bartender explaining some things to her, but out of the corner of her eye, she was watching Henry and Lorelei at the DJ area. At first, Lorelei had just stood there, listening and watching him. Now, however, she was moving her head to something through headphones, Henry doing the same through another pair. He had run in to the back room at some point and come back pulling her excitedly. At about the five minute mark, Ruby was going to go check on Henry, but they came out, whispering to each other excitedly. She eyed them suspiciously but they went back to the headphones and Lorelei seemed to be whispering, or singing, in Henry's ear and he was ecstatic.

She shook her head, whatever they were doing, she just hoped it didn't end up on fire.

Henry put the headphones down when he saw his moms walk in. They were both dressed pretty nice and Emma held a chair out for Regina to sit at one of the tables before heading to the bar where Henry met her. "Hey, you guys look really good!" He told her happily.

"Thanks kid, I asked her here on a date." She winked at him before asking Ruby for a glass of wine and a beer.

Ruby gave her a soft smile, "that is so sweet. You guys do look really good by the way."

Emma nodded her thanks and headed back to Regina, leaving Henry smiling at Ruby. "How you like the new job?" He asked her.

She shrugged, still smiling, "it's not bad actually. I like it, and if there was music, it might even be enjoyable." She glanced at the DJ booth, Lorelei was still nodding to the sound in the headphones. "What're you guys working on?"

Henry shook his head, "I can't tell you, it's a surprise. But, I can tell you something that no one else knows.." He wagged his brows at her and she leaned in close so he could whisper at her. "She hasn't sang with her own voice, no magic, since she died like forever ago." He smiled and ran off to the DJ area leaving a confused looking Ruby at the bar.

She knew Lorelei had died an immeasurably long time ago, and she knew the story of her and Hades. Lorelei had told her everything, including the way people would fall in love with her when she sang. But she didn't know she hadn't used her own voice since then… What were they doing?

It was almost eight, and somehow most of the town had heard about the new DJ trying out tonight. Most people were really hoping this bar would become a decent place to hang out. There were not many places to go in Storybrooke and the bar would be a good one if it wasn't so depressing. Everyone was getting a drink before eight and settling onto stools and at tables and the bar itself.

Henry was darting around, dragging cords and things all over the place. He put a microphone and stand in front of the DJ area, on the dancing floor that was empty except for a stool which he put behind the microphone. He dashed back to the DJ area and he and Lorelei put on headphones and were whispering back and forth excitedly. At eight o'clock, Henry and Lorelei were staring at each other intently, Henry was talking seriously at her and she was nodding occasionally. Eventually, she straightened, took a deep breath and nodded at Henry who made his way to the microphone.

"Hello…" He jerked back when the mic screeched, Lorelei shouted go ahead after a few seconds, she had apparently adjusted it. "Hello, welcome to the rabbit hole. I would like to introduce Lorelei, your new DJ. She is going to start playing music for everyone to enjoy and hopefully will make you all want to come back more often…" he glanced back at her and she stared at him for a few seconds before nodding at him, He gave her a huge grin, "But first, she would like to perform a live song for you. This song is for someone pretty special, I think you will figure it out…" He trailed off smiling at Ruby before dashing back to the DJ area, taking the headphone from Lorelei and settling in at the computer screens.

Lorelei made her way to the stool by the mic, carrying a battered looking guitar. She settled on the stool and the music accompanying her began to play as she strummed the guitar:

 **(brief interruption to the story. The song in my mind here is not the original, it is a cover of the song little red riding hood as done by Amanda Seyfried. I don't usually add this during the story, but it is very different from the original and I recommend listening to it.)**

 _Hey there little red riding hood_

 _You sure are looking good_

 _You're everything a big bad wolf could want_

Ruby was immediately embarrassed, but she couldn't possibly take her eyes off the woman while she sang, she switched looking at the guitar and at Ruby while she sang the soft words.

 _Little red riding hood_

 _I don't think little big girls should_

 _Go walking in these spooky old woods alone_

While she sang the next lines, she gave Ruby a heated look that made her heart speed up, she could feel actual emotions coming from her voice as she sang.

 _What big eyes you have_

 _The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad_

 _Just to see that you don't get chased_

 _I think I oughta walk with you for a ways_

 _What full lips you have_

 _They're sure to lure someone bad_

 _So until you get to grandmas place_

 _I think you oughta walk with me and be safe_

Lorelei shifted her eyes to Henry, wagging her brows in a mischievous way as she sang on.

 _Gonna keep my sheep suit on_

 _Til I'm sure you've been shown_

 _That I can be trusted walking with you alone_

She watched her guitar then, seeming to be nervous…

 _Little red riding hood_

 _I'd like to hold you if I could_

 _But you might think I'm a big bad wolf so I won't_

Before starting the next verse, she looked nervous and stared right into Ruby's eyes with more emotion than Ruby herself had ever seen in anyone, even herself.

 _What a big heart I have_

 _The better to love you with_

 _Little red riding hood_

 _Even bad wolves can be good_

 _I try to keep satisfied_

 _Just to walk close by your side_

 _Maybe you'll see things my way_

 _Before we get to grandmas place_

Ruby couldn't hold her tears as she looked in to the sirens eyes. It only got worse when she saw Regina discreetly dabbing at her own eyes. Lorelei finished her song and put the guitar down while the whole bar erupted in very approving applause. She nodded at the crowd. She avoided making eye contact with Ruby as she made her way back to the DJ booth. She very nearly threw Henry out and began playing a very upbeat song that had everyone nodding and some started dancing. Henry looked beyond happy, even though he had been thrown out rather rudely without a word from the siren.

He made his way to the bar where Ruby was still trying to collect herself. "So, how was that for emotions?" He asked her.

Ruby shook her head, glancing at Lorelei, "It was… incredible Henry." She shook herself a little, smiling at him, "now tell me why she won't even look at me now."

Henry shrugged, "she loves you, but she really can't seem to admit it. Mr. Gold told us when we met her that she is a creature of passion, music and magic. Well, she doesn't have her magic, so a piece of her is kind of missing, which probably throws her off pretty good. But, she just realized she can still have her music, and you're the … well… passion." He blushed and tried not to look at her. "So, anyway, I think she just told you she loves you and now she is freaking out… She seems a bit better at singing feelings than speaking them." He shrugged and ran off to join his moms.

Ruby told the other bartender she would be right back and headed for the DJ area. When she got there, Lorelei was sitting down, below the edge of the booth so no one could see her. She was frowning and staring at the floor. She looked up, and tried to stand when she saw Ruby.

Ruby pushed her right back down and sat straddling her lap. She kissed her very passionately, until Lorelei had taken a firm grip on her waist and was pulling her in impossibly closer, one hand trying to creep up her back. Ruby pulled back enough to look in to her eyes, she told her, barely loud enough to be heard over the music, "I love you too, Lorelei. I'm not letting you go, no matter what you do, or how mad you try to make me, I'm not ever going to let go." As the siren watched her, she leaned down and gently kissed the tiny scars on her shoulder, "I marked you, and now you're mine. You can't get away from a werewolf. If you run, I will find you and I will drag you back." She kissed her again before going back to the bar, leaving a wide eyed, heavy breathing siren on a chair in a booth.

Emma heard Snoop dogg start one of her favorite songs and she grabbed Regina up off her chair, pulling her into a tight embrace and dancing with her before the brunette even had time to register what was going on. She looked startled, but she started moving with Emma, relaxing entirely as they started dancing.

"What on earth is this song about Emma?" Regina asked even as they danced.

"Can't you hear? It's about loosening some buttons…" Emma replied while grinning at her. Regina smirked and began dancing a little more aggressively with her, much to Emma's delight. Henry had gone to sit at the bar under the watchful eye of Ruby. When the song ended, Regina told Emma to sit and went to the bar.

Leaning over to tell Ruby quietly, "I'm all about holding onto a grudge you know… but even I would forgive that filthy siren after that song…" She winked at Ruby and nodded. "Do not repeat that to anyone."

Ruby smiled and patted Regina's hand, "oh, I won't. And I did forgive her. I'm pretty sure she understands a little better now, I know I do."

Regina nodded and said loud enough for Henry to hear, "time for home. You have school tomorrow and apparently you have missed much more time than we thought so come on."

Henry made a pouting face but nodded, "Okay, can I tell Lorelei good night?" Regina nodded and he ran off for the booth. He got up there to find Lorelei smiling, standing in front of the computers. "Did she forgive you?"

The siren smiled at him sideways, "was there ever a doubt? I'm fantastic."

Henry laughed at her and told her goodnight, he knew how nervous she had been. He also knew the intense sense of relief she felt when Ruby had disappeared behind the booth with her. He made his way back to the bar, stopping to say goodnight to Ruby. "Goodnight Ruby, and pre-warning, she has maintained her superiority complex."

Ruby laughed and rolled her eyes, "yeah well, you can't expect her to turn into an entirely different person. Besides, I kind of like that cocky attitude" She laughed as he ran off waving to her. She was kept busy the rest of the night, apparently even a Sunday night can be a nice late night if the atmosphere is right.

Belle went to Lorelei, not missing the bitter look she got before the siren smoothed it over with a smile. She wasn't real sure why Lorelei seemed to dislike her, after all, when they had first met Lorelei had been hitting on her. "Lorelei, you're absolutely amazing. No one has ever seen this many people here, and it's never been a happy place. You are absolutely hired. We can talk about wages and such tomorrow." She handed the siren a key and said, "that's to the apartment above the bar, there's not much up there, just a bed and a dresser really. But everything works and the bathroom is really nice. There is a little kitchen area. It's yours, enjoy and I will see you here on Thursday night?" Lorelei nodded and Belle left her to stuff the key in her pocket.

Ruby saw Belle coming to the bar, and she saw Lorelei glaring at her back. Shaking her head at the woman's jealousy she leaned in to hear Belle say, "the jobs yours, here's the key to the apartment upstairs. Lorelei has one too already." And with that, she rushed off. Ruby looked at the key before looking over at Lorelei, waving it at her. She got a seductive look involving the sirens tongue across her lips and had to take a few moments to settle herself into actually doing the job she just got instead of forcing Lorelei up to the apartment right now.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

It had been a few weeks since the party at the rabbit hole. Lorelei was doing a fantastic job as DJ; people were having fun and staying longer, drinking more, talking more, and dancing more. Ruby was kept busy the more people enjoyed listening to the music and dancing. Things were going rather well, despite the occasional mistakes from the siren. She absolutely oozed sex appeal, so it was no surprise that after a few drinks, most women in the bar would sort of gravitate towards her. For the most part, a whispered reminder that the siren was already taken would deter them back to their friends or dates. Some, however, had to be physically steered away, especially if Lorelei decided she did in fact feel like dancing with them.

Only one woman had been determined enough to ignore all the warnings. The more sober patrons always fetched their friends who were a little too amorous towards the siren. So far, Ruby could do her job and let people sort themselves out. But this one woman… well, she didn't listen to her friends. She didn't let them pull her off the dance floor. They gave up and left her to dance with Lorelei, and as a particularly crude song with a deep beat came over the speakers, Ruby herself decided to pry the blonde twig of a girl off her girlfriend.

She came up behind the dancing women, whispering into Lorelei's ear, "you think maybe you're dancing a bit close to this one?"

The siren shivered at the voice in her ear and turned quickly to face her, a large smile on her face, "oh, I don't know, she seems to be rather enjoying it, I'd hate to disappoint." She gave her a wicked smile and wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist.

Apparently, the blonde girl was offended because she reached around, grabbing the sirens shoulder and saying, "hey, I thought we were doing good here."

Lorelei stopped dancing and looked at the blonde raising a brow at this brave little woman. "Yes, but I have been told that we were doing too good, so go on back to your friends now."

Ruby could see she was drunk, the way the blonde girl eyed her was pretty much proof enough so she tried to talk her down, "Look, Tink, I really think you should go back to your friends. You're drunk and dancing with my girlfriend and I'm pretty sure you feel ten foot tall, but I mean really, you're like five foot." She smiled at the woman and tried to keep herself steady.

Tink snorted and gave Ruby a dismissing wave of her hand, "Lorelei, really? You would rather be with a dog than a fairy? No one would choose her over me."

Lorelei moved to tell the little blonde off, because actually she had absolutely no interest in the tiny woman, especially now that she knew Tink was a fairy, but Ruby pushed her back a little, standing over the tiny woman. "Tink, last warning, back off."

Tink stood toe to toe with Ruby, looking up, of course. "Why don't you back off."

Lorelei could feel the tension, and as much as she sort of liked it, she didn't really want Ruby to hit the girl, she would probably snap her in half. She put a hand on Ruby's arm, steering her towards the bar, "come on, leave the twiggy fairy alone." They turned their backs on Tink, hoping she would get the hint, but apparently she was a very thick headed little fairy.

She reached out and actually smacked the sirens butt, which cause Lorelei to jump in surprise, and cause Ruby to swing back around, connecting a solid slap to Tink's face. Tink stumbled, but caught herself before she fell and threw herself, growling at Ruby. It caught everyone in the place off guard, because really, who would try to fight a werewolf?

The two women immediately fell to the ground, the sound of punches connecting were heard and several people rushed in to pull them apart. Lorelei snapped out of her daze and grabbed Ruby by the waist, lifting her off the ground and carrying her like that to the chair beside the DJ area, setting her down roughly, making her sit. She tried to jump back up a few times, but Lorelei kept her down.

"Okay killer. She gets it now. Did she even manage to land one hit?" Lorelei examined her face, but there were no marks.

Ruby growled and shook her head, crossing her arms on her chest, "of course not. That stupid twiggy fairy couldn't possibly have hit me. Oh my god I hope I broke her jaw." She frowned and seemed to sort of deflate. "I can't believe I just beat the shit out of Tinkerbell."

Lorelei laughed and sat lightly on her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "You defended my honor, my hero!"

Ruby pinched her sides, making her jump before wrapping arms around her and leaning a head on her chest. "You're an asshole. You don't have honor, you were dancing with her and you know what happens."

Lorelei sighed, "please do not hold my grace and charm against me. I can't help it, and in my defense I have resisted dancing with women who are actually attractive…"

Ruby laughed and hugged her tighter, "you only dance with the stupid little girls. You're ridiculous."

Lorelei gave her a quick kiss before hopping up, helping her stand too. "Well, I have grown accustomed to a woman who is seriously, delightfully, unbreakable. I have no intentions of sleeping with anyone else, you do know that right?"

Ruby nodded, "I know, but when she put her hands on you… well."

Lorelei laughed and kissed her, pushing her towards the bar, "well thank you, my hero, now go back to work." She bounced up to the DJ area, preparing more music.

Regina and Emma had been busy with work and catching up on the paperwork that had piled up. It was difficult to focus on paperwork though due to the fact that they had stayed up very late almost every night for the past few weeks enjoying each other's company very thoroughly. Emma yawned and smiled at her thoughts as she remembered those nights. She gladly gave up sleep to continue memorizing Regina in every possible way. The other distraction however, was trying to plan a wedding that they couldn't set a date for until Snow decided to give her a coronation. She had been planning that, without letting Emma or Regina know any details. All they knew is that Snow would let them know when she had decided on a date. Regina and Snow were fighting like two dogs with a bone over the marriage versus the coronation.

The last fight had been a pretty good one though. Regina had been sitting at the counter in the kitchen, reading the paper and sipping a cup of coffee. Emma had gone in to the station to sort out a problem with a couple of shops getting broken in to. The doorbell rang and Regina made her way to the front door.

She opened it and immediately regretted getting up from her seat at all. She sighed heavily and walked back to the kitchen, leaving the door open and not saying a word at all. Snow frowned at her and followed her through the house, closing the door behind her.

"Regina, you're acting like you didn't expect me. We agreed to meet here at nine to discuss the layout of the meeting hall for the coronation ceremony." Snow began setting her things out on the counter as Regina resumed reading her paper.

"I had blocked it out. It wasn't something I really wanted to do. I'm pretty sure I agreed to make you stop speaking to me."

"Well, as the mayor, you have to help me decide how to arrange the area."

"Fine, Snow, what's your idea?" She didn't take her eyes off her paper, whatever Snow had come up with was probably stupid and overly dramatic but if it got this damn coronation out of the way then Regina was all for it. She just wanted to marry Emma.

Snow began talking, and she didn't stop for nearly thirty minutes. The only reason she stopped then was because Emma had come through the door. She smiled sweetly at her daughter and said, "oh Emma! I'm so glad you're here. I need help deciding how to…"

Regina interrupted by grabbing Emma by the back of her neck and kissing her deeply. "Welcome to my hell dear."

Emma smiled and shook her off, "behave." She then looked at all the things Snow had spread out on the counter. "Uhm, what's all this exactly? Can't I just walk in, kneel, you put a crown on my head we all cheer and then I walk away?"

Snow unclenched her jaw, Regina only did things like that to irritate her. "No, Emma. There is a ceremony, a process that has to be done. There are things that must be said as other things are done and it must all be done in a specific order."

Emma rolled her eyes, "okay, how about you set it all up, any way you want and I do as you tell me?"

Regina chuckled into her coffee cup, "oh Emma, but then this would be easy and nothing your mother does can be simple or easy."

Snow glared at her, "says the woman who uprooted an entire kingdom to a different realm."

Regina glared right back at her, "Good point! If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't be standing in this beautiful kitchen torturing me with coronation bull shit."

Emma tried to calm the two but couldn't get a word in as they started yelling at each other. She groaned and gave up, going to get a cup of coffee instead, ignoring the shouting match. She turned when she felt Regina's magic flare up. She gasped and swore as she saw what the magic was for. "Oh my god Regina!" Snow white was currently rubbing her head with a silent scream on her face.

Regina smiled darkly and silently walked away towards the stairs. Snow continued rubbing her head, slowly turning to Emma who was trying very hard to not laugh. Snow was bald as a baby's butt. "Emma… my hair… I'm bald…" She dropped her hands, a snarl on her face. "How could you be marrying her Emma? She is an evil woman who has no sense of propriety! Look what she did to me!"

Emma looked at the floor, frowning hard to keep the laugh out of her voice, "yeah, that's pretty bad. Maybe you could apologize and she would undo it…?"

Snow shrieked in response and gathered her things, stomping out the front door and slamming it behind her. Emma sipped her coffee for a few minutes before following Regina up the stairs. She walked in the bedroom and stood behind Regina as she was applying her make up in the mirror. "So, my mother is bald…"

Regina bit her cheek to try not to laugh. "Is she? I hadn't noticed…"

Emma did laugh then, putting her hands on Regina's shoulders, kissing the top of her head before continuing, "why can't you just sort of… smile and nod? Just let her do whatever it is she thinks she needs to do and get this over with?"

Regina sighed and hung her head, "because she is the most infuriating thing the world has ever spat out?" She turned on her stool and hugged Emma tightly, leaning her head on the womans stomach. "I listened to her for nearly thirty minutes before you came home you know. I let her go on and on and did not even once snap at her. But then you show up and it's like she is trying to win you over to her side instead of mine."

Emma raised her brows, "maybe she is. I mean she probably thinks I like you better than her, which has to be kind of irksome considering the past and what not."

Regina pulled back, "Emma, you're right! That's the problem here! You need to spend time with your mother."

Emma shook her head violently, "no, no, no. That's not the answer."

Regina nodded turning back to her mirror, "yes, you need to spend good time with your mother. Make sure she knows that just because you're marrying me doesn't mean you love her any less."

Emma was still shaking her head, "Regina, I can handle her in small doses but seriously I'm not the mother daughter bonding time sort of type."

Regina ignored her, "call your mother and tell her you want to spend tomorrow with her." She saw Emma shaking her head in refusal in the mirror, "you do realize that if you refuse to listen to me, I can make you sleep in the guest room… or better yet, I could demand you spend a few nights back at the loft. That would give you plenty of bonding time…" She stopped talking as Emma pulled her phone out and started talking.

"Mom, yeah… Okay, but here's the thing. I want to spend the day with you…" Emma nodded as Snow was speaking, screwing her eyes shut and shifting her feet in discomfort, "Yeah, well maybe tomorrow? All day Sunday would be fine."

Regina continued to adjust her hair just right as Emma listened to her mother talking. "Well, I mean I don't know… whatever you want to do I guess. Do you intend to apologize to Regina?" She was silent for several minutes as Snow shouted into the phone, "of course, yeah. Well then we could go hat shopping or…" She stared at the phone in disappointment. "Well, I tried, she hung up on me sooo…" she shrugged and put her phone back in her pocket.

Regina smiled at her sweetly, "Emma, you will spend the day with her, or sleep elsewhere. I want to marry you and I can't until Snow does her coronation."

Emma stood up straight and took on a stubborn look, "do you really think I am so addicted to you that I would put myself through this just to sleep with you?"

Regina raised a brow at her and gave her a smoldering smile while she put her ear ring on. Emma visibly crumpled and groaned loudly as she pulled her phone back out, "god damn it…"

Regina chuckled darkly at her as she left the room on her phone, "Mom, don't hang up please. I _need, like really need,_ to spend the day with you…" Once she was gone Regina took a deep breath. She seriously hoped Snow would agree to a mother daughter day. She didn't want to admit it but she was extremely addicted to Emma and sleeping apart would be absolute torture.

Sunday morning found Emma, Henry and Regina having breakfast at the diner. Emma was moody because soon her day with Snow was going to begin. She loved her mother, but she could think of about ten thousand things she would rather do than spend an entire day shopping and planning ceremonies with her. Henry was going to help Belle at the library today so he was happy. Regina seemed content to spend time with her family.

They had nearly finished their meals when Tinkerbell walked in, sporting a gruesome black eye and split lip. "Holy shit Tink, what happened to you?" Emma asked as the fairy took a seat at a nearby table.

Tinkerbell sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to soothe away her hangover. "I'm not completely sure, it's a little foggy. I have been told however that I decided to smack Lorelei's ass and Ruby crushed me."

Regina was giggling as she finished her cup of coffee. "I'm somewhat surprised you're alive."

Tink nodded, wincing at the movement. "Yeah well, I was really drunk. There's something about that woman that just sort of pulls at me ya know?"

Henry nodded, giving her a sympathetic smile, "she's a siren. All those stories we've heard are all based off of her in some way. You probably just got caught up in her natural pull. She turned it way down, but I think when people drink they are more susceptible to it."

Tink eagerly drank her coffee the waitress had brought her, "yeah and Ruby is a werewolf and those stories are definitely accurate. She hits like a freight train."

Snow walked in then, the diner bells seeming to sing to her as she bounced over to Emma, "are you ready Emma?"

Emma looked up and nearly choked on her coffee. Snow was wearing a scarf tied over her bald head and a big floppy hat on top of it. She looked like something out of gone with the wind. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Regina just smiled sweetly at Snow, "I love the hat dear, very becoming on you." She continued smiling as Emma kissed her quickly and they left the diner.

"Mom, how long are you going to let her walk around like that?" Henry asked.

Regina shrugged, "until she apologizes for calling me a cradle robbing harlot."

Henry's eyes widened in surprise, "Gram said that?!"

Regina nodded, "yes she did. Which is why I decided to make her look like Mr. Clean and told her to wash her mouth out."

Henry tried not to smile, but it was really hard. "You do know she will be your mother once you marry Emma right?"

Regina glared at him, "we don't talk about that Henry. You wouldn't look very good bald so I recommend you remember that."

Henry swallowed and refocused on his breakfast. Before long, he had to head off to the library, leaving Regina to sip her coffee and read the paper she never finished the day before. She was more than happy to sit alone for a while, it was going to be a long day.

Ruby walked in to the diner with Lorelei shortly after Henry walked out. Lorelei spotted Regina immediately and sat down across from her, smiling brightly as the brunette glared at her. "Morning beautiful. All alone today?"

Regina pointedly ignored her, shifting the paper to block her form view. Lorelei frowned and sat back to watch Ruby get them some coffee. Ruby didn't see a point in waiting for the waitress, she knew what she was doing better than anyone else and got two cups of coffee, telling the chef, Laura, what they wanted to eat. She stopped at Tink's table, the fairy seeming to try and shrink herself down in her seat.

"Tink, are you alright?" Ruby asked her.

The fairy looked up at her, scared as hell. "Oh yeah, I'm good."

Ruby smiled and took a seat beside Lorelei, handing her a cup of coffee. "I'm sorry, by the way. I kind of lost it when you tried to tackle me though."

Tinkerbell looked at her, shock obvious, "I tried to tackle you? You're like twice my size why the hell would I do that?"

Red laughed, shrugging, "you were really drunk. I can forget about it if you can… and as long as it doesn't happen again."

Tink smiled shyly, "yeah I'm pretty sure I won't be drinking that much again… I'm really sorry."

Lorelei decided to interrupt, "well it wasn't your fault. I am incredibly irresistible, after all."

Ruby rolled her eyes and Regina laid her paper down to stare at the siren, "I personally do not have a problem resisting you. I think you're a vile creature and that Miss Lucas could do far better than you for herself."

Ruby chuckled at her, she knew Regina really was happy for them and wanted them to be happy together, but she wasn't going to admit that. Considering the way Snow had looked when she rushed home from visiting Regina, Red wasn't about to let Regina's softer side secret out. "Did you flirt with Regina again?" She asked the siren.

Lorelei looked at her blankly, "of course I did. She's insanely beautiful and refuses to admit her unending lust for me. The poor thing would be depressed if I didn't flirt with her."

Regina snorted in amusement as she sipped her coffee. "Yes, I would simply cy myself into oblivion without your ridiculous attempts at flirting."

The food Ruby had asked for was delivered and Lorelei finished hers in record time. She then started picking at Ruby's food. "Stop it! If you want more, go ask for more." Ruby threatened her with a fork to back off her plate.

Lorelei sighed, but started picking at Regina's abandoned leftovers instead. Looking up from her paper Regina made a disgusted sound, "what kind of animal are you? You have no idea what I could have done to that food."

Lorelei licked her fork in an elaborate manner, "I was hoping it was something very dirty…"

Ruby elbowed her in the ribs, taking her fork and Regina's plate and waving the waitress to take them away. "That's enough of you. Let's go, you promised your invisible friends you would see them this morning remember?"

Lorelei waited for Ruby to stand to reply, "they are not invisible. I can see them and so can Henry. I told you, I have to keep an eye on the underworld in case Rumplefuckingstiltskin decided to play any games."

Regina asked before they headed out, "how are things going there? Has he done anything so far?"

Lorelei shook her head, "nope. He is still searching for something he can't remember but knows was important. Hopefully he doesn't figure out how to get his memories back. If he does, well, he may decide to come here looking for it." She shrugged and they left the diner.

Regina frowned in thought. If he did remember it was his child, he could come back to question the siren. If he did that, Lorelei didn't stand a chance against him with that collar around her neck. Of course, if Lorelei wasn't able to subdue him, he could cause a lot of damage… Regina sighed and finished her coffee as she stood and threw some cash down for the food. It seems she had something to do today after all. She needed to figure out how to get that collar off. Not that she would take it off, unless Rumple turned up. She was overly fond of the siren not having magic. But, a backup plan was necessary, so she made her way to her vault, pulling out books and scrolls to research.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Regina had spent the better part of four hours pouring through books and scrolls in her vault. So far, she hadn't found a way to remove the collar other than cutting off the sirens head, which she considered to be plan B. She was studying a particularly dusty book when Emma snuck up on her. Emma reached out and grabbed her shoulder…

Regina jumped, the book slamming to the floor along with Emma whose hand swung out to catch herself, instead toppling a small shelf with glass vials onto herself and the ground around her. There was something similar to an indoor thunderstorm that surrounded her as she scrambled to get up. Regina tried to catch her breath without inhaling the swirling cloud of magic.

"Emma! What is wrong with you?! Do you have any idea how dangerous…" She trailed off as the cloud dissipated and instead of seeing Emma on the floor, there was a blonde haired little girl in clothes that were far too large. Regina was incredibly confused, until the little girl opened her bright green eyes and stared up at her in shock. Regina tried to stay serious but that only lasted a few seconds before she collapsed in laughter so intense she was left gasping and wiping away tears by the time she could stop.

The little girl had her arms crossed on her chest and a deep frown on her face. She was not as amused as the brunette. "Wagina! It's not funny! You turn me back! Wight now!" She stomped her foot which only made Regina laugh loudly once again. Growling, the little girl tried to gather her clothes and storm out but that only resulted in her tripping and getting more tangled than before.

"Emma, oh my god, you are so cute!" Regina picked up the thrashing child and eventually had her in just the t-shirt that hung to her knees. She kissed the little girls forehead and pinched her cheek, narrowly missing a tiny hand trying to slap her in the face.

"Wagina! Stop laughing and turn me back!" The pouty face made Regina stick her own lip out in a pout.

"Emma, how many times have I told you to be careful in here?" Little Emma rolled her eyes. "How many times Emma?"

"Ugh, like a lot."

Holding back another laugh she nodded, "that's right, a lot. And what did you do instead of remembering those times?" She couldn't help the baby talk tone she was using.

Growling again little Emma replied, "I snuck up on you."

"That's right. You snuck up on me. This could have been a whole lot worse you know. We could both be dead right now."

"I'm sowwy. Please turn me back Wagina…" Emma put on the cutest puppy dog face Regina had ever seen, it was a hundred times cuter than when grown up Emma used it.

Raising both brows Regina held up an admonishing finger, "first, tell me why you're here and not with your mommy." She pursed her lips together, not fully containing her giggles.

"Because I missed you! I wanted to come see you! And my mommy…" little Emma cleared her throat in irritation, "And my mother… is iwwi… iww.." she groaned in frustration before speaking very slowly, "She is irri… tating."

Regina laughed and scooped up the little girl who protested loudly at being carried around, "well, baby Emma, I think you need to be taught a lesson!" She poofed them both to the loft where she was correct in assuming Snow would be.

Spinning around Snow stared at Regina, bouncing a horrified looking child on her hip. "Regina! What… Who?"

Regina wrestled little Emma into submission in her arms before smiling broadly at Snow, "Do you remember that one time when I was the reason you missed your daughter's childhood?" Snow nodded, looking very unsure. "Well, I give you, baby Emma!" She put the child down and managed to grab her arm before she could bolt out the door. "Now, you need to dress her, and feed her and have her back to me by nine tonight." She smiled, laughing loudly as Snow scooped up the squealing child and squeezing her until Emma was done fighting and just let it happen.

"Oh Regina! I'm… well I'm upset you turned Emma into a little girl, but I am so happy!" She continued squeezing the child and swinging her around, making baby sounds.

Regina laughed loudly and half hysterically as she poofed herself out of the loft. Eventually Snow allowed the child to stand on her own and little Emma stared up at her with an intense frown. "Mom, this isn't funny. You haf to tell Wagina to turn me back, now!"

Snow just looked down at her, tears in her eyes, "awwww, Emma, you are so cute! This is the best present anyone could ever give me!" She reached to grab the child again, and Emma braced for impact but Snow stopped short. Gasping she said, "Your father is going to love this! We will get you dressed in something pretty and go see him at the station!" Emma went wide eyed in horror and tried to run again but Snow had a pretty good grip on her, dragging her towards the bathtub. "That's what we'll do! We will get all dressed up and then go see daddy!"

Emma screamed like she was being murdered, but Snow just held on to her, turning on the water for a bath.

David was looking through Emma's notes on the break ins that had been happening lately, trying to find anything she may have missed. It didn't make any sense, the burglar was taking cash only, no merchandise though. Except at one store. At the little furniture store, there was no money missing, but the thief had taken a boxed crib, a kids sized dresser and entire racks of baby clothes. He wanted to figure out who the thief was not only to return the stolen money and merchandise, but also to help whoever it was. It was fairly obvious with the missing baby stuff that the thief couldn't provide for a child.

He was about to call around asking people with small children if anyone else with small children was struggling when Snow came into the station with what appeared to be the single most pissed off toddler known to mankind. "Snow… where did you get a little girl?"

Snow had a good grip on the baby leash she had rigged to Emma (it was really the only way to keep her from running off) and she smiled at David brightly, "David! This is Emma! I have no idea what happened but Regina said we can keep her until nine tonight! I need you to watch her while I go get Neal from daycare. Then they can play together!"

David pursed his lips, looking down at the little girl who was frowning so deeply he could barely see her eyes. At first he thought he should probably take her to Regina and make her change her back… But then he felt his eyes start to tear up as he realized he had never seen his daughter as a toddler… He scooped her into a big hug that made her grunt. "Emma! You are the cutest little girl I have ever seen!"

Emma tried playing dead, complete with tongue hanging out and eyes closed, but that back fired when David said in a playful voice, "uh oh, I think I squeezed her too tight! I better bring her back with… tickles!" He began furiously tickling her sides and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop laughing and squirming around hysterically.

"Dad… stop… pwease!" She managed to choke out between laughter.

He stopped and just stared at her a minute, "Okay, I know you're mad. What did you do to make Regina shrink you?" He tried very hard, but he couldn't help it, he asked in a very silly voice.

Little Emma rolled her eyes, earning a giggle from her parents who found it adorable. "I snuck up on her and scared her… in her vault. Wagina had magics all over and they spilled on me." She closed her mouth and gave up as her parents were just giving her childish pouty faces. Sighing she sat on the floor, giving in to this day.

Snow rushed up to her and stood her back up brushing off her bottom, "oh Emma, don't sit on the floor, it's dirty… yucky stuff will get on you."

Emma hung her head, waiting for her mother to stop. "You guys are enjoying this."

David traded glances with Snow before telling her, "we missed this part of your life Emma. Give us a glimpse?"

Emma sighed and put her arms up for David to pick her up before saying, "ok… daddy." He laughed and flew her around like an airplane, Snow taking pictures with her phone.

….

Lorelei and Ruby were waiting at the shoreline for the sirens to show up. They stood together, each one with an arm around the other, watching the tiny waves. "You know, I'm pretty proud of you." Ruby told her quietly.

Lorelei frowned a little, confused. "Why?"

"Because you have adjusted… fairly well to life here. I mean there have been a few hiccups, but overall I think you have done pretty well."

Sighing Lorelei gave her a squeeze before moving closer to the water, she had seen a flash of gold a ways off shore. "Well, I have tried. I think if it weren't for you, I would have gotten shot by Emma or burnt to ash by Regina by now."

Ruby chuckled, "yeah, that's pretty likely actually." She watched as Lorelei stepped to just the water's edge and began nodding every so often. She was frowning, apparently she wasn't fond of whatever news she was getting. Eventually Lorelei gave a small wave and turned to take Ruby by the hand and start walking back in to town. "Well? What's up?"

Lorelei still looked to be in thought, "nothing new, everything's fine in the underworld…" She was definitely thinking hard on something.

Ruby pulled her to a stop, kissing the frown away, "Lorelei, tell me what has you so lost if everything's fine."

The siren sighed, "Ruby… there aren't any werewolves in the underworld." She grimaced hard at admitting it.

Ruby raised a brow, she had no idea what she was talking about, "Okay… why exactly were you looking for them? I mean, if you want werewolves, they're in another realm probably. I mean, not the enchanted forest though, I looked and they have all moved on."

"Ruby… there are no spirits in the underworld who used to be living werewolves…"

Finally understanding, Ruby frowned, "but, I thought that's where people go when they die?"

Lorelei tugged Ruby back in to motion, heading for the diner. It was cold by the water and she wanted some coffee. "Not all people do. I imagine there would be a severe overload if all beings from all realms went to one place. The thing is, I don't understand the pattern of who goes there and who goes somewhere else except that there aren't any werewolves." She sighed heavily and rubbed her head in frustration.

Ruby squeezed her hand, "hey, I still don't understand why you're so upset."

Lorelei stopped walking and turned to her, she had a serious face on and it worried Ruby. "What happens when you die Ruby? Where do you go?" Throwing her hands up, Lorelei scrubbed her hair before continuing, "I'm immortal. I assumed when you died I would simply go back to the underworld and we would go about our dead little lives. But, Ruby, there are no werewolves in the underworld. When you die… I can't just… I'll be without you…" she cut off, growling in frustration.

Ruby took her hand and pulled her towards the diner again. She didn't know what to say, she hadn't actually considered her own mortality in comparison to Lorelei's immortality. Now that it was brought up though… She shook herself, forcing a small smile, "well, my kind have to go somewhere. We will figure it out and you can meet me there instead. If you can walk in and out of the underworld, then following me to some place else should be a breeze." She squeezed her hand again and was happy to see a small smile appear on the siren. She hoped Lorelei bought her idea. Honestly, she had no idea where dead wolves went. She hadn't considered it. Wherever it is though… Lorelei hadn't been there or heard of it and that worried her. She didn't want to think of Lorelei living forever without her.

They made it in to the diner and sat across from each other at a booth, ordering a couple cups of coffee. Regina walked in shortly after they had and seemed unusually giddy. She even smiled and came to sit with them, beside Ruby who gave her a wary look, "uhm, hi Regina… why so happy?"

Regina chuckled darkly and pulled her phone out, handing it to Ruby who began flicking through pictures, "see the blonde girl?" Ruby nodded, making a sort of 'aww' noise. Regina bounced, giggling, "that's Emma!"

Ruby gasped and handed the phone to Lorelei who curiously tapped the screen. "What happened to her?! I mean, she's really cute but I bet she is super pissed!"

Regina ordered a coffee before answering, "she scared the hell out of me in my vault and managed to cast a spell on herself making her a toddler. So, naturally, I gave her to her parents." The coffee's showed up and Regina sipped at hers before realizing the siren had her phone and was grinning in a very bad way. She snatched the phone out of her hand, the siren immediately pouting.

"I wasn't done with that!" She began adding copious amounts of sugar to her coffee as Regina looked through her phone at what the siren had been grinning at.

She kicked Lorelei hard under the table getting a satisfying yelp from the woman. "I strongly suggest you find a way to forget those pictures." She glared at the woman intently while tucking her phone away.

Lorelei glared back at her, rubbing her shin. "No need to be so angry, Regina. It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Ruby put a hand on Regina's to get her attention back, "tell me, does she have a squeaky little girl voice too?"

Regina gave the siren one more mean glare before turning to Ruby and letting her smile come back, "she does! Not to mention the cutest little speech impediment! She keeps calling me 'Wagina'." The women started giggling and talking back and forth about baby Emma.

Lorelei very quickly lost interest, she had never been overly interested in children. She found herself examining the legs of a woman sitting at the counter. She hadn't bothered looking any further up until the woman had stood and started walking towards her. She then made it all the way to her chest. With a sly smile, she looked up to meet unamused brown eyes staring down at her, with hands on hips. Her smile vanished immediately, replaced by a tight frown as she turned back to her coffee.

"Funny, isn't it?" Belle said with a raised brow.

Regina and Ruby looked at her, Ruby narrowing her eyes at Lorelei immediately. Anytime a woman looked as irritated as Belle did just now, Lorelei had likely done something wrong or rude. "What's funny Belle?" Ruby asked.

Belle waved a hand at the siren, "it's funny how very attracted to me she is until she looks me in the eye."

Ruby reached across and slapped Lorelei's arm, "Ow! What was that for? I didn't touch!" Lorelei growled at her while rubbing her arm.

"That was for eye raping Belle… again." Ruby growled right back at her.

Regina held up a hand, "Okay, enough." When she was sure the two women were done, Regina turned to Belle, "did you need something dear?"

Belle gestured for Lorelei to scoot over and when the siren practically slammed through the wall in her attempt to stay as far away from her as possible, Belle sat down across from Regina. "I actually wanted to ask you if you have heard of something called, 'trans-essence delivery'."

Regina frowned in thought, "I have, but only in passing, it must be in one of my books. Why do you ask?"

Belle glanced at Lorelei who was leaning her head against the window with her eyes closed, "a few weeks ago I memorized the very start of Lorelei's runes and I managed to translate them in to trans-essence delivery. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything of the sort in any of Rumple's books."

Ruby huffed a laugh at her, "Belle, you were half drunk when you read her runes, and later that night Snow got you pregnant. How the hell did you remember the runes?"

Belle shrugged, "I don't know, I just remember things like that. But it would be incredibly helpful if I could read them all. Maybe the rest explain the first few?"

Regina nodded, "that's likely. I am rather heavily invested in a different study. I can look for that one next, but at the moment I'm fairly busy. I suggest translating all of her runes first to try and find your answer."

Everyone sipped their coffee in a thoughtful silence, except Lorelei who was staring at Belle sideways. "Belle. These runes, they cover me from head to toe. Do you realize that in order for you to see every one, you would need to be very close to me in all my naked glory?"

Belle glanced at her, blushing slightly, "it is strictly academic. I have no romantic interest in you, haven't you figured that out yet?"

Lorelei scoffed at that, "call it whatever you like. If that's what you want, and it really interests you, I have no problem with it."

Ruby looked at her in surprise, "you're fine with Belle staring at you naked for possibly hours?"

Lorelei wagged her brows at Ruby, "well, I do have two conditions."

Regina sighed, "of course you do. As much as I would like to hear your likely disgusting conditions, I need to return to my work." She made quick good byes and got a coffee to go, heading back to her vault.

Belle leaned back and rubbed her eyes tiredly, "alright Lorelei. What are your conditions?"

Ruby gave the siren a threatening look, trying to mentally make the woman behave. "Yes, please tell us."

Lorelei swallowed the last of her coffee before stretching and fixing Belle with a small smile. "Well, the first condition is the most important. Ruby has to be alright with you staring at the perfection that is my flesh. She has to be alright with you potentially tracing my runes with one shaky finger dragging across my sweat slicked skin while you…"

"Lorelei! Jesus, it's like you don't learn! I'm fine with her reading your naked body." Ruby interrupted what was quickly turning into spoken porn. As an after thought, she grimaced and told Belle, "maybe just no touching though…?"

Belle, red faced, nodded quickly, "of course not. I have no idea what you see in this… this… woman." She made a few disgruntled noises before Lorelei smiled and nodded.

"Okay, so the first condition is solved. Now, the second condition…" Belle and Ruby pulled back, wincing with anticipation of the what could possibly come next. Lorelei grinned, looking like a hungry wolf before speaking, "tit for tat."

Belle tilted her head in confusion, "I'm sorry, what does that mean exactly?"

Ruby groaned loudly, "it means, Belle, that if you get to stare at her naked, she gets to stare at you… naked. Tit for tat."

Belle's mouth fell open in astonishment, or horror, Ruby wasn't sure. She tore out of her seat and out of the diner with her mouth working furiously in silent protests as her face turned an impossible shade of red. Ruby let her forehead hit the table top as she groaned. "Lorelei… seriously?"

The siren looked slightly confused, "what? She expects me to stand there like a piece of meat on display but she won't do the same for me? Talk about rude. I have no idea what you see in that woman."

Ruby looked up at her, her face contorted in disbelief, "You know what? I love you, I do, but I'm just gonna let the next woman you offend beat your ass. In fact, I hope it's Regina. Maybe that will make you stop."

Lorelei shrugged and leaned back, winking at Ruby, "I doubt it."

Try as she might, Ruby couldn't help but laugh as she dropped her head back to the table. "I fully expect us to be thrown out of town within a year."

Lorelei patted the woman's head gently, sipping the rest of Ruby's coffee, "me too."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

At about eight o'clock, Henry and Regina were sitting on the couch having just finished a late dinner, watching t.v.. The door bell rang and Regina went to answer it, wondering who could be visiting at this hour. She opened the door only to have her legs latched on to by a tiny blonde child.

"Wagina! Pwease! Pwease! I'm sowwy I will never never never touch stuff no more!" little Emma wailed while clinging to Regina's legs. Snow and David came running up the walk, breathing heavily from running.

"Regina… she… bolted…" Snow gasped while she attempted to catch her breath.

David came hurrying up behind her, carrying Neal. "She is the fastest child I have ever seen… and she chewed through her leash."

Regina cocked a brow at them, "chewed through a leash? What is wrong with you two?" She reached down and lifted the little girl onto her hip, Emma immediately wrapped tiny arms around her neck and buried her face in her neck. "Alright, calm down. I got you now." She made soothing circles on the little girls back. She frowned at the Charmings, "alright, I suppose she's learned her lesson, go home and try to treat the second child better." The pair nodded tiredly at her and turned to leave. Regina closed the door and headed back to the living room. "Henry, you want to see what happens when you touch things you were told not to?"

Henry turned to look, curiously, "no, I'm pretty sure I'm not five mom." He saw the child clinging to Regina and cracked up laughing, "but apparently my other mom is… that's awesome." He shook his head as Regina headed to the study. Once there, she sat the child on the couch.

"Alright dear, are you ready to act like an adult?" little Emma nodded vigorously. Regina chuckled again before casting a reversing spell on her. She was even nice enough to change her back into her big girl clothes. Once the purple smoke dissipated, there sat a very deflated adult Emma. "Well? Do you feel alright?"

Emma pouted up at her, "yes. You are probably the worst person living."

Regina chuckled darkly and settled on to the blonde's lap, wrapping her arms around her neck. "You brought it on yourself. But, on the bright side, you fulfilled your end of the bargain. You spent an entire day with your mother, and I might add, you made her very happy."

Emma frowned at her for a while, but eventually gave in. She relaxed and wrapped her arms around the brunette, resting her head on her chest. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to need counseling, but it was really weird seeing how happy they were."

Smoothing the blonde hair in a gentle way, Regina smiled down at her, "actually, if I had thought of it before, I would have offered you the chance. But I think this way was better. Why do you smell like roses?" She laughed as Emma gently bit at her shoulder. "No biting Emma, that's not nice." The baby voice set the younger woman off, and Regina squeaked in surprise as Emma stood up, holding her above the couch before dropping her down onto it.

"You are so lucky I love you right now!" She was biting her cheek to keep from smiling down at the woman, giggling on the couch. She bent down and kissed her thoroughly before straightening and heading for the door.

"Where are you off to now?"

Turning Emma sighed, "I need to shower. My mother decided to bathe me and now I smell like baby shampoo and roses."

Regina heard the door close and eventually she stopped giggling enough to head back out to watch t.v..

…

"Karaoke!"

Ruby jumped as Lorelei smacked the bar top as she shouted for the second time, "karaoke!" Lorelei jumped up and headed for the DJ area. Ruby followed her, grabbing both of their drinks to take with her. Since they started working here, they spent most of their time at the bar. Drinking wasn't even always involved, Lorelei just seemed really comfortable here.

"What about karaoke?" Ruby asked as she pulled up a stool beside the booth.

Lorelei was messing with wires and cords. She looked at Ruby holding her drink and taking it from her she said, "I DJ Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights…"

Ruby interrupted, "actually, you DJ Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You just half ass it on Wednesday and Sunday because there's rarely people here very late."

Lorelei waved at her in irritation, "Wednesday is stupid. The week shouldn't even have a Wednesday. What I'm trying to explain to you, if you are done interrupting…" she waited until Ruby nodded, "is that we should have karaoke night, on Thursday."

"Why Thursday?"

"Because Thursday is stupid, but the week needs a Thursday so we should find a way to make it interesting."

Ruby raised a brow at this logic but decided to leave that one alone. "Okay, so what're you doing now?"

"Well, for starters, I am actually working right now so I had to start the next playlist." She hit a few keys on the computer and then went back to the wires. "Secondly, I need to find a pair of microphones, in case of duets."

Ruby sipped her drink, she was technically working right now too but there was only one person at the bar and she was pretty sure Leroy was asleep on his stool. "I see. What makes you think you will be able to handle the townsfolk singing?"

Lorelei set two microphones aside and looked at her curiously, "why wouldn't I be able to handle it?"

She shrugged, "well, I mean, not everyone is good at singing. I know you've got the single most beautiful voice I have ever heard, but I'm pretty sure not everyone else does. Karaoke is pretty much dependant on horrid singers in order to be entertaining…"

"Oh! I see. Well, I admit it may grate me a bit, but if it gets too bad I will sing one and no one else will be able to follow something like that, thus putting an end to it." The siren finished her drink and glanced at the man sleeping at the bar. "How much longer we got here?"

Ruby squinted at the clock on the wall, "about ten minutes, why?"

Lorelei pulled her off the chair and in to a tight embrace behind the booth walls, kissing her heatedly. "I can think of a few things I can accomplish in ten minutes…"

Ruby bit her ear lobe in agreement. She could think of a few things too…

….

It was nearly one o'clock in the morning, but Belle couldn't sleep. She was still sifting through books, trying to decipher the portion of runes she could remember. She desperately wanted to see the rest… But she certainly didn't want to read them while she herself was naked. She blushed at the thought of standing naked in front of someone like the siren.

"Have I ever told you, you are absolutely ravishing when you blush?"

Belle started to a standing position at the voice. Seeing Will Scarlet, she blushed harder. He laughed quietly, walking towards her to take one of her hands in his. "Will, you scared me half to death. What are you doing here at this time?"

He kissed the back of her hand and dramatically gestured for her to follow him to the storeroom at the back of the library. She couldn't remember the last time she had bothered the dusty room. He opened the door and flicked on the light, revealing a boxed crib and several mounds of baby clothing.

Belle stared at the things in confusion, "Will, what on earth is all this doing here?"

"Well, you are going to need these things. I happen to be an expert at collecting things, so I collected the things you need." He smiled at her as she touched several pieces of clothing.

"Will, I don't know what to say… thank you, I mean, this is unexpected, but appreciated…" She trailed off, looking him in the eye as he attempted to look any where but in her eye. "Will, did you buy these things?"

Will made a dismissive gesture, "traded actually. I traded my skills for these items."

Belle crossed her arms on her chest, frowning at him. "Your skills are as a thief, Will. What you're saying is that you stole all this."

Pursing his lips and squinting at the ceiling he tried once more, "well, technically, I proved my prowess as a thief by borrowing these things." He chanced a glance at her and then rolled his eyes, holding his hands up in defense, "Okay. I stole all this. But, it's the only skill I have and I want to help you. I want to make sure you have everything you need. I want to do this with you and I didn't really think you would let me unless I could provide for you and your baby."

She sighed heavily, it was far too late in the night for this. "Will… no. Absolutely not. You take all of this back to the store it came from, tonight. Please, that is what I want from you. I want all of these things, and anything else you've stolen to be put back in the morning."

Will went wide eyed, he had spent the better part of a week collecting all this. "What if I leave money in place of everything instead? Like buying it, but after hours?" He gave her his best smile, complete with big eyes.

"Where did you get the money you intend to leave?" She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to try and make something up

Groaning, he picked up the boxed crib awkwardly and as he left out the back door he said, "put it all back. Got it. No worries my Belle. It'll be done." He grunted and began carrying the crib down the street.

Belle sighed and went back to the library to turn off the lights and lock the doors. As she headed up to her little space to go to bed, she occasionally heard the back door to the library open and close as Will hauled his treasure out. She smiled, in spite of herself. He was actually trying to be there for her, in his own wrong way, yes, but still… It was a sweet idea.

….

Regina was laying on her side, propped up on her elbow, just looking at Emma sleeping. The blonde was exhausted after her day of being a toddler. She watched as her chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. She was still amazed some times that this woman was laying here in her bed. She had certainly imagined it plenty of times, but now it seemed she must still be dreaming. She gently pushed some blonde hair back off her face and lightly traced the jaw she had revealed. Emma stirred a little, smiling in her sleep. Regina sighed and smiled back at her before settling in beside her and resting her head on the woman's shoulder.

"I love you." Emma whispered, eyes still closed, still asleep.

Regina smiled and squeezed the blonde's waist as she whispered back, "I love you too."

When she woke up, Emma opened her eyes to find Regina laying on her the way she usually did. She smiled at her and shifted enough to wrap her arms around the smaller woman. Regina took a deep breath, stretching a bit before she opened her eyes and looked sleepily up at her. "Good morning madam mayor."

Smiling, Regina snuggled in closer. "No, it's still too early to be mayor."

Emma giggled and shifted again, facing Regina and laying on her side, "it's time to get up."

Regina squeezed her eyes shut. "No."

"Are you sure? Because yesterday my mother told me that the coronation will be on Saturday, so since today is Monday, we should get planning on that wedding."

Regina's eyes popped open then, "Really? She finally set a date?" Emma nodded and started laughing as Regina threw herself at Emma, rolling her onto her back and straddling her hips. "Emma! Why didn't you tell me? Do you have any idea how much we have to figure out for the wedding? We could get married on Sunday… no. That's not enough time…" She was interrupted in her thoughts by Emma gripping her by the waist and rolling her hips up to meet her.

Emma bit her lip and watched as the woman stopped talking to push against her hips. "I think… we should not talk about it right now…" She grinned wickedly as Regina leaned down over her, placing a hand on either side of her head and stopping just a breath away from kissing her.

"I think, you're right." Regina matched Emma's wicked grin and let her body weigh down on the blonde woman underneath her. She felt a shiver of heat in her body that started at her lips and traveled down her spine when she pressed their lips together, Emma moaning into her mouth.

"Moms!" Emma's moan turned into a surprised grunt as Regina's forehead fell on hers at the sound of Henry calling for them. They didn't move, hoping maybe he would move on. But, no luck, in fact his voice took on a more urgent tone, "MOMS!"

Regina sighed heavily and gave Emma a quick kiss before rolling out of bed and heading for the door, wrapping her rob around herself before opening the door and calling out to Henry, "Henry? Is something wrong?"

Behind her she heard Emma mumble, "better be something wrong…"

"Yeah, kind of. I think you should probably come see though…" Henry sounded unsure, but not scared.

Emma groaned loudly and flopped out of bed, pulling on her t-shirt to match her mesh shorts she had slept in. She reached the door and kissed Regina lightly, "I will check it out. Why don't you go get ready for work, I will shout if I need your help."

Regina smiled at her, "thank you dear." She chuckled as Emma made some grouchy noises and headed down the hall.

Emma got to Henry's room and of all the things she might have expected to see, a massive black wolf was not on the list. She gasped and nearly yelled for Regina but Henry held his hands up to her, "No, Emma! It's Ruby!"

Emma stared at the wolf's eyes and recognized her friend in there. "Henry… what the hell kid?"

Henry shrugged and waved at the open window, "I have no idea how, but I think she came in through the window. I woke up to her sleeping on my rug."

Emma frowned at the wolf who simply sat and stared back at her. "Okay… I'm just gonna… you know, get Regina." She backed out of the room, intending to walk back to the master bedroom when she heard a startled scream from Regina in the bedroom. So, she ran instead. She slammed into the bedroom in time to catch the brunette as she was attempting to run out. "Regina, what is it? What happened?"

Regina didn't get a chance to answer as the wolf from Henry's room barreled past the women, knocking them both into the wall. Immediately the wolf bolted to the walk in closet and the sounds went from bad to worse when the wolf leaped in to the closet. Then the growling and snarling was mixed with yells and crashing noises. Regina recovered first, dashing to the closet, magic already leaping from her hands.

Emma staggered and managed to make it to the closet door as Regina used her magic to pull the wolf out of it with her magic. The beast was still snapping and growling, trying aggressively to break free from Regina's magical bonds. As the brunette drug the wolf out of the room she gestured to the closet telling Emma, "help her!"

Emma looked hesitantly into the closet to find the siren in the corner, clutching her ribs and breathing heavily. "Lorelei… shit… are you hurt?"

The siren looked up at her with furious eyes, "I'll be fine in a few minutes, I think. Where's Ruby? Regina didn't hurt her did she? If she did I swear I'll…" Her threat was cut off as she tried to stand and fell back down in pain.

Emma used her magic to close the bedroom door, and then the closet door behind her before crouching down beside the siren. "She won't hurt her, but what about you? Did Ruby seriously just try to kill you again?" Lorelei nodded sadly. "I don't understand, you gotta break it down for me here, and let me see where she got you."

Lorelei sighed but moved her arms, showing Emma the torn, but not bleeding flesh that was her ribs. Even as Emma watched, the skin was knitting itself back together slowly, the runes becoming whole again and only tiny marks between them remaining. "I have no idea. We went to bed… eventually, and when I woke up it was to a set of teeth around my throat. It was still dark out, I managed to get away from her and I ran here. I climbed through Henry's window but I heard her tearing at the siding up after me so I shut his door, then yours, and then the closet door. I was exhausted from healing so I kind of passed out in here. Which was fine, until Regina woke me up screaming. And, well… you saw what happened next."

Emma sat down on the closet floor, making a mental note to check all the window locks… And to learn to sleep lighter. "Okay. So, apparently, Ruby's wolf side hates you?" Lorelei shrugged, looking irritated. "Okay. Look, the whole world knows she loves you. No one knows why, but she does. So, maybe, whatever spell Robin and Blue put on her to make her attack you that first time is still active? Like, maybe when her wolfstime comes, she can't help it."

Lorelei winced as she thought on it. "Yeah, or maybe, her inner wolf self hates the shit out of me because I'm bad for her and it's trying to protect her from me."

Emma shook her head, "No, Ruby learned to control her wolf, to live with it and I don't think she would let this happen. I think, we need to go visit our favorite fairy again."

Lorelei sighed, "I don't like that Blue woman. I have heard so many stories about her, but they don't really make sense. I mean, how can somebody be seen as this all around good and perfect fairy, when she doesn't love anything at all?"

Emma cocked a brow at her, "what do you mean she doesn't love anything?"

Lorelei gestured to Emma's heart, "remember the threads? She has none. Not one. People tell me she protects her little fairy people, but she doesn't have any love for them. She doesn't love anyone. Shit, even I got one thread of love, plus a…." She cleared her throat loudly, "well, I got threads. She doesn't."

Emma smiled at her, she still refused to admit she loved Ruby. Emma would have bet her own heart that there was a true love line shooting off to hit a wolf in the chest coming from the siren. "Well, I have always thought Blue was a shady bitch. We're gonna go see her. We will get you and your true love back together, I promise." Emma stood as the siren huffed and grunted trying to get up and protest the true love assumption at the same time. Emma held up a hand to her, stopping her. "No, you need to stay here. I don't know where Regina put Ruby, but I'm not breaking up any more fights. You stay, when we leave I will send Henry to get you. We can take Ruby with us."

Lorelei nodded reluctantly, but sat back down with a pained grunt. Emma headed downstairs, closing every door on her way. She found Regina leaning against the closed study doors. A distinct growling was heard on the other side of the doors. "Is she alright?"

Emma nodded, "yeah, she's healing. Apparently she woke up to Ruby chewing on her, in a bad way."

Regina rolled her eyes at Emma's attempt at a joke. "Now what?" Regina listened as Emma relayed the conversation, and the plan to talk to Blue. "Fine, but this is the last time I am helping that siren. In fact, the only reason I am agreeing now is for Ruby's sake. She worked hard to cope with her wolf and I'm not going to let Blue or anyone else mess with that."

Emma nodded and Regina opened the study doors to reveal the wolf sitting beside Henry. "Can I come?" Henry asked eagerly. Both his mom's shook their heads. He sighed, "I have to babysit Lorelei huh?" Both women nodded and Henry waved to them as he headed upstairs.

Regina snapped her fingers at the wolf who immediately stopped growling and focused on her. Regina patted her leg and the wolf heeled like a trained dog. Emma huffed in surprise. "I guess this means you're the real alpha huh?"

Regina chuckled darkly, "Not alpha, dear. You seem to underestimate how much of a queen I am." She winked at her, walking towards the door and magicking clothing on them both. Emma nodded and followed her and the wolf out the door, heading for the Blue fairy.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The women made their way to the convent to have a chat with Blue. Just before they got there however, Granny ran up to them, holding her crossbow. Ruby wolf greeted her and stood by her as she caught her breath. "Hey… Granny…" Emma waited for her to breath normally again. She must have ran all the way here from the diner.

"Emma, Regina. I heard you're going to have a word with Blue about Ruby trying to kill Lorelei." Both women nodded and turned back towards their path. "Wait, you need to know what's going on here. It's nothing recent that has Ruby attacking the woman."

"Nothing recent? It's not the spell they used to attack her the first night she was here?" Regina asked, suddenly very curious.

Granny shook her head and looked sadly down at the wolf who was staring at her intently. "I wish it were, but actually what's happening here was done a very long time ago. Don't worry though, it's still the Blue fairy who is at fault." Emma motioned for her to go on. "Okay, a long time ago, a werewolf ate her true love. It was the first time it had happened, because you see, not everyone who gets bit or scratched turns wolf. Some people are immune to the change. Before this one incident, a wolf would mark their love and wait until after wolfs time to see if they could change. If they didn't, then the two had to be very careful around wolfs time but it wasn't too big a deal as long as the human stayed away from the werewolf, like other people do. Unfortunately, this time the pair were so confident that the man would change at wolfs time, they stayed near each other. She changed, he didn't, she ate him." Granny shrugged as if it was completely logical. "This wolf, she went to the blue fairy and asked her to make it so that a werewolf wouldn't attack their true love. Instead the blue fairy decided to do the opposite. If a werewolf marks their true love, and they don't change, then the werewolf is uncontrollable in hunting down the poor soul and killing them. Blue thought it was a good idea because no one should fall in love with a werewolf unless they were also a werewolf. Which, is why our numbers have dwindled so far. It's nearly a 50/50 chance that the marked human will change, and if they don't they die. Which, of course leaves the wolf to mourn and never really recover. It's what happened with Peter." Granny gave the wolf a small pat on the head as it whined. "She marked him, without even knowing it, and when he didn't change, she was forced to destroy him."

Regina looked at the wolf with it's drooping head, feeling the pain Ruby must feel right now. "What is wrong with that woman? How could she do something like that? Just because someone can't turn, they get hunted down by their love and killed?" She made a disgusted sound and charged off to the convent, Emma beside her and Granny with Ruby coming up behind them. "She made the whole horrible thing worse by spelling the werewolves into hunting down their unchanged true loves. What a vile creature."

They stormed through the doors and the fairies who they saw shrunk out of their path as they made their way to Blue's office. Once all four women were inside, staring down a very confused looking Blue, Granny shut and locked the door, leaning on it with her crossbow in her hands.

Blue then took on a look of anxiousness as Regina slowly walked up to the desk, leaned on it and looked down at her in the chair. "Good morning Blue. How are you today?" Without giving the woman a chance to answer, Regina went on. "How am I you ask? Well, I was minding my own business, enjoying my family when all of a sudden, I was stampeded by a wolf trying to use a siren as a chew toy." Regina smiled darkly at the now nervously shifting fairy. "You see, apparently, a long time ago you thought it would be a good idea to make wolves kill their loves if they didn't turn into wolves also. Now, I am going to politely ask you to undo that asinine choice." She stood then, raising her brows with a small smile on her face.

Blue cleared her throat and glanced at Ruby who stood growling by Granny, "I'm sorry Regina that you had a difficult morning. However, I did not make a mistake in casting that curse on the werewolves. Surely you can see that they deserve to be eradicated. I decided to let them die out slowly with this curse instead of a complete genocide." Blue spoke quickly, but sure of herself. She actually thought what she was saying made sense.

Emma slapped the fairy across the face before the woman realized she had come closer. "You are unbelievable! How can you possibly think to play God? You are responsible for probably thousands of deaths!"

Regina pulled Emma back, frowning at Blue, while the woman recovered her place in the chair, a red hand print swelling on her cheek. "I did what needed to be done! These wolves are horrid creatures! They do nothing more than kill innocent people! They are worthless and always have been and I am doing the world a favor by helping them to die off."

Granny sprung off the door then aiming her bow at the fairy, Emma managed to stop her from firing, just as Ruby lunged for Blue. She clamped her teeth down solidly on the fairies arm, the woman's screams quickly filling the office before she flung her magic out to throw Ruby through the doors, crashing in to the wall across the hall. Regina reacted quickly and in turn used her magic to throw Blue against her office wall, holding her there firmly.

"Enough! Blue, you will remove this curse or I will kill you myself and save the world from anymore of your good deeds!" Regina stood close to her, ignoring the blood oozing down the fairies arm.

Blue was wide eyed and panic stricken with pain and fear, "I will not! This has only shown me I was right to curse them! Kill me then Regina, I would prefer it if you did any way." She glanced at her arm in fright, "Fairies are not immune…"

Emma gasped and released Granny who ran to see to Ruby. "Are you saying you aren't immune to a wolf bite?" The fairy nodded, struggling against her magic bonds. "Holy shit… You're gonna shift."

Regina cocked a brow at the fairy, "well well Blue. This is going to be very interesting isn't it?"

The blue fairy was crying hysterically at this point, "no, I won't. I refuse to become one of those disgusting beasts! I will destroy myself before I let that happen, just like anyone who is infected by them should do!"

Regina hissed as she conjured a small vial in to her hand. "You could… But then I will destroy all of your little fairies, it should be easy without you here to protect them." Emma frowned at her, but she knew Regina wouldn't actually do such a thing. It was still unsettling how very convincing she sounded… "Or…" she held up the vial in the fairies face.

Blue's eyes went wide as she focused on it, "wolsbane! Impossible, where did you get that?"

Regina shrugged, "when I cast the first curse, I was unsure if Red would still change here in this land. I brought this in case she did. But, she didn't and I forgot all about it, until just now."

Blue licked her lips nervously, glancing at Regina and the bottle in turn before finally setting her jaw and staring at Regina, "no. I will not remove the curse. They deserve it and it is for the good of all the good people that they die out."

Regina vanished the vial and instead conjured another, this one was filled with a red substance that looked like smoke. "I lied, I'm not going to kill you or your fairies. Instead I am going to curse you right back dear." Emma touched the brunettes arm this time, she wasn't lying. Regina shrugged away from her and opened the vial, blowing the smoky contents over the blue fairy who choked and inhaled the stuff. Regina smiled and turned away from her, releasing her and taking Emma by the arm to where Ruby and Granny stood. Ruby seemed fine, for a wolf anyway.

"Regina, what did you do to Blue?" Emma waited until they were outside again before asking.

Sighing Regina glanced back at the convent, "that was an old spell I used on some of my soldiers. It is a life spell. No matter how much she wants to, she won't be able to take her own life, or let anyone else take it either. Of course, I am the loophole. If she becomes too unruly, I can put her down like the dog she is." They continued walking and behind them, from the convent, they heard an ear piercing wail of anguish and anger. Apparently Blue had just discovered what Regina had done. "She will either give in and release her curse so I give her the wolfsbane, or she will become enough of a problem that I must deal with her."

Emma looked sideways at the woman, "remind me not to get on your badside. Of all the evil and nasty things you could have done to her, you cursed her with life. That's fucked up babe."

Regina shrugged, "well, it's what I do dear. And do not call me babe."

Emma smiled at her as they walked back towards the mansion, she took out her phone to tell Henry to put the siren back in the closet before they got there.

As soon as the front door closed behind his moms and Ruby, Henry went to find Lorelei. He found her still sitting in the back of the closet. She had leaned back on the wall, with her eyes shut, but one tear managed to leak out as Henry spoke, "hey… you wanna talk about it?"

Lorelei sighed deeply before opening her eyes. She was wearing a ragged and torn tank top and equally destroyed boxer shorts. She felt exhausted from the long and painful healing process. She had come to the conclusion that her healing abilities were stunted by the werewolfs natural power. It took forever to heal and was very energy consuming. She looked at Henry, standing awkwardly in the door way. "Not really. She tried very hard to kill me. But you know what? I watched as she came in to your room, I was ready to rush back in to knock her out the window after I realized you were asleep. I kept the door cracked just in case. She just came in, smelled you, and laid down. I don't think she realized I was at the door still or she likely would've come after me like she did earlier. She didn't want to kill you, boy. Just me."

Henry winced, he hadn't thought about that. "But, mom is going to find out why, Lorelei. It's not about her wanting to kill you. It's some kind of spell. Red would never hurt you if she had any control over it."

Lorelei huffed in mock amusement, "and what makes you think that?"

Henry chewed his lip before answering. He had kept this secret because he knew she didn't want anyone to know… But he felt like she needed to know. "I can see them…"

The siren frowned at him, "see what?"

"The threads… I can see them. You have two, a big one for true love, attached to Ruby and a small one for regular love… that goes to me."

The siren stood, angrily lunging and grabbing him by his shirt collar and snarling in his face, "you little bastard! How dare you hide this form me?!"

Henry tried to keep calm, he didn't really think she would hurt him… but she was a little unstable at the moment. "Because I know how much you would be pissed off if I told you! I haven't told anyone, I swear. No one knows about your lines or that I can see them. No one knows."

Lorelei felt her anger sky rocket, and then plummet completely. She let him go and collapsed back to the floor, the tears refusing to be held back anymore. She hadn't cried so hard in thousands of years, maybe never. She felt Henry wrap her in a tight hug and wanted to punch him, but decided to just let it happen instead. They sat there like that until Henry's phone buzzed and he separated from her to check it. She began wiping her face on some shirt she found on the floor. He typed away for a moment and then stood, "they're coming back. They said you should stay in here though." He grimaced at that, it meant they hadn't fixed the problem.

Lorelei nodded and waved at the clothes around her, "that's fine, I need to change anyway. Which one of these is Regina's favorite?"

Henry rolled his eyes, well at least she could find ways to make herself smile. He pulled a dark red silk shirt off a hanger and handed it to her, "she will kill you for wearing it." Lorelei nodded, still sniffling slightly.

He made his way downstairs to wait on everyone to show up. He could feel nothing but a strong sadness coming from the siren, but maybe she would open up to Ruby about how she felt now. Well, after Ruby quit chewing on her.

Emma and Regina came through the door with wolf Ruby close behind. The wolf smelled the air and her eyes flashed as she turned for the stairs. Regina snapped her fingers and the wolf whined but sat beside her instead of tearing off for Lorelei. "Henry, how is she?"

He shrugged, "she will be fine probably. A little upset but, I think she will pull out alright."

Emma hung her jacket up in the closet and told him, "Granny went to their apartment to try and find her anti wolf jacket."

Regina smiled at her, "don't you mean her little red riding hood?"

The wolf growled a bit, but laid down in what could only be a pout. If wolves, pouted that is. "So, tell me. What happened?" Emma relayed the story to him, and when she was done just sort of gave him a sad smile in apology. She knew how much this hurt Ruby and Lorelei, but it obviously hurt him too. "I can't believe it! How could she do something like that? And, she would rather die and let all her fairies die before undoing it?" He was pretty mad at this point.

Regina held him by his shoulders, looking him in the eye, "calm down Henry, she will come around I think. And if she doesn't, well, the bright side is that Miss Lucas has her cloak and if a mistake is made, Lorelei is immortal. At worst she will be in excruciating pain and repeatedly devoured for a few days before Ruby turns back."

Granny came through the front door with cloak in hand, looking thoroughly angry and disgusted. She shook the cloak at the wolf angrily as the wolf whined and shrunk down, "you two are the messiest, most unorganized people on this planet! Where was this Ruby?! Hmm?! I will tell you where it was! It was under a pizza box, under the bed, along with socks, dishes, alcohol bottles and a few other things I'm not going to mention because Henry is here!" Granny huffed angrily but finally settled the cloak over the wolf, Ruby emerging and wrapping the cloak around her naked self tightly.

She blushed furiously while wincing and looking at the floor, "I'm sorry Granny. We just get kind of busy, you know working and neither of us really find time to clean. I'm really sorry you had to find… other things." She glanced at Granny long enough for the older woman to shake a finger at her and leave the house in a huff of anger. Ruby turned to the two women who were trying, and failing to hide their amusement. "Laugh it up, just go ahead and imagine what it would be like if Snow searched your room!"

Regina burst out laughing, clutching her sides, while Emma went a little pale and frowned at her, "not funny Regina."

Henry had caught on to what they were probably talking about without actually saying it in front of him and he blushed deep red before covering his ears and stomping off to his room, shouting just before slamming his door, "you people are scarring me for life you know!"

Regina managed to stop laughing and gave Emma an apologetic smile. "Can you imagine if Snow found…"

"No! Oh my god Regina." Emma blushed and headed for the kitchen.

Ruby, still tightly clutching her cloak asked Regina, "hey, that wolfsbane, what does it do exactly?"

"It takes away the wolf, for good."

Ruby was shocked and curious, "for good? Where… how have I never heard of it?"

Regina shrugged, "it's extremely difficult to create. I was able to create two doses. One for you and one for Granny, just in case."

"Can I have it?"

Regina faced her, focusing on the woman's eyes intently, "Ruby, would you really want to be rid of the wolf forever?"

Ruby winced but said, "if it's a choice between torturing Lorelei for the rest of my life and losing my wolf… I don't know. But I would like the option."

Regina gave her a small sad smile and conjured the vial, handing it to her, but not before saying, "promise me you will talk to her first, before you take it?" Ruby nodded and Regina handed it to her. "She's still up in the closet."

Ruby snorted in amusement, heading for the stairs, "I'm very confident she hasn't been in the closet in like a million years…" She heard Regina laugh as she followed Emma into the kitchen. Before opening the closet door, she made sure she was completely covered, this was serious conversation time and Lorelei was easily distracted.

She knocked lightly, before opening the door slowly. Lorelei stood there, buttoning up a red silk blouse. She had a pair of ratty sweatpants on already and the combination was enough to make Ruby giggle. Lorelei's head snapped up in surprise, she hadn't heard the knock being too focused on the incredibly tiny buttons of the blouse. "Ruby… uhm… hi." She knew she sounded stupid and winced as the words left her mouth.

Ruby stepped into the closet, carefully clutching her cloak with one hand and closing the door with the other. She smiled at the woman's awkward response. She must be pretty nervous to say something that lame. "Lorelei, we figured out what happened, Granny actually knew." She stood there and told the siren everything that had happened and what Granny had told them all. She just stood there and listened, not really giving Ruby anything to work with as far as emotion or even facial reaction. She finished and kind of shifted her bare feet, waiting for Lorelei to respond some how. She didn't know exactly what she would say, maybe that it's ok and they would figure it out, or maybe she would just walk out. Maybe she would…

"I love you Ruby."

Her jaw dropped open and she stared wide eyed at Lorelei, tilting her head slightly. Of all the possibilities… Ruby didn't think that was one of them. She tried to think of words, but none came. Lorelei smiled at her shyly, it was such an odd look on the over confident siren, once again Ruby lost her words and instead just stared at her in shock. Lorelei stepped in close to her, looking up a little due to both women being bare foot. She gripped her arms beneath the cloak and stared into her eyes intently. "I love you, Ruby. You are my true love, and I am yours. No matter what comes, I will be with you through all of it, I swear it."

Ruby bit her bottom lip and stared back at her, the tears approaching no matter what she tried to hold them back. She took a steadying breath before finding words, "I love you too. I can make it better for us though." She produced the vial of wolfsbane and uncorked it. If Lorelei was willing to get tortured every month and still stay and love her… then she needed to get rid of the wolf for her sake…

Lorelei grabbed the vial as Ruby lifted it towards her mouth, "what is this?"

"Wolfsbane. It will get rid of the wolf part, I won't shift anymore."

Shaking her head violently a look of horror on her face, she took the vial from Ruby and put the cork back in it. "Why would you do that?!"

Ruby tried and failed to get the vial back. "Lorelei, I refuse to let you be attacked every month as repayment for loving me. If I get rid of the wolf, then we can live our life together easy. Damn it, I'm trying to make things better for you!"

Lorelei kept the vial out of reach, "no, Ruby. You are a werewolf. It's what you are, it's part of you and who you are. Henry told me how hard you worked to cope with it and learn to embrace it. I don't want you to give that up. It's part of you and I dig it."

Ruby cocked a brow at her, "you 'dig it'? You dig getting tore up?"

Lorelei shrugged, "I'm immortal, it's not a big thing. And, little miss hidden magic cloak, if you shift without notice and tear my arm off, I will eventually get that cloak on you and put my arm back on. It's not a big deal. Look, I just admitted I love you and here you are trying to completely change yourself. I don't want to love a plain ass chick, I wanna love a werewolf. If I wanted plain Jane I would go seduce Belle. You don't see her burning down that library do you? No, because that is who she is. Which is fine, except, well boring. And she has those morals which is annoying too. But lovely legs… The point here, is that I love you and I love your wolf side too. I love you being a werewolf, even if it hurts like fuck from time to time."

Ruby stopped trying and just heard the siren. She looked at her intently, "are you sure? I mean, what if I hurt you too bad to heal yourself?"

Lorelei glanced at the ceiling in irritation, "impossible. I got this, I promise."

Ruby pulled her arm back in to her cloak and nodded, feeling honestly loved. "Okay… but, if you change your mind, we will give it back to Regina to hold on to."

Lorelei nodded and tossed it into a pile of clothes she had pulled down the night before for a bed. "Okay. That's done. Now, I think you should apologize for chewing on me, twice now." She smiled at ruby, all her confidence back in full force.

Ruby laughed and let go of her cloak, letting it fall open to expose her total lack of clothing. "How's that?"

Lorelei's mouth went dry at the sight of the woman in front of her, no matter how much she was allowed to enjoy this woman, she still found her body intoxicatingly beautiful and irresistible. She slowly let her hands drift from sides to hips, finger tips digging in and pulling Ruby closer. The taller woman grinned widely at her and pressed their lips together firmly. "We are not having sex in Regina's closet."

Lorelei raised a brow at her and licked her lips slowly before whispering into Ruby's ear, "how sure about that are you?" Ruby tried to pull back just a little, but the siren caught her bottom lip in her teeth and instead she moaned quietly and pressed against her tighter. She felt Lorelei smile against her mouth as her hands began drifting.

…..

Regina and Emma had headed to the kitchen, making coffee and trying to settle before starting their actual jobs. Henry was going to be late for school, but no one really bothered him when that happened, being the author and Regina's son and all.

He came into the kitchen sitting at the counter and waiting to be served breakfast. Emma threw a box of cereal at him, but Regina got him a bowl, spoon and milk. They were just sort of relaxing after the morning excitement when Henry asked, "where's Ruby and Lorelei?"

Regina sipped her coffee before answering, "Ruby went up to talk to the siren. I'm sure they will work it out."

Henry was scratching at his tattoo. "Oh… they're still up there?"

Emma nodded, "sometimes things take a while to work out ya know."

Henry stopped scratching his hand and blushed, immediately kinking the emotional connection. He had learned what that intense heat meant. After fifteen minutes, he couldn't take it any more, kinked or not, apparently proximity made it harder to block out. "Could someone maybe go get them and make them go home or something?"

Regina frowned at him, "Henry, what's gotten in to you? They should be allowed to work things out, and as Emma said, it takes time."

Henry rolled his eyes, "Mom. Ruby is naked, and Lorelei is, well, Lorelei. They have been in your closet for like thirty minutes…"

Regina slammed her coffee cup down as Emma choked on her coffee. "Son of a bitch!" Regina swore as she headed hurriedly to the stairs, Emma close behind her.

Henry continued eating his cereal. And people called him oblivious.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Emma managed to get in front of Regina before they entered the bedroom. She spun around and held her hands up to the very angry woman, "Regina, let me handle this, okay? I will just poof them back to their place and no harm done."

Regina's face was the perfect picture of anger, now that they were in the room they could hear the sounds coming from the closet and it was most certainly not talking. "No harm done?! Emma, they are in there with my clothing! They are literally fucking up everything in my closet! I'm going to kill them and you will not stop me."

Emma put her hands on the woman's shoulders to stop her from pushing further into the room, "okay. But, if you kill them I have to arrest you for murder. I don't want that, you don't want that, no one wants that. Let me deal with it. I will just peep inside, and poof them to their own room." She waited a few moments before Regina nodded angrily and turned to leave the room. Once she was certain she had gone downstairs, Emma took a deep breath and put her hand on the closet door knob. She seriously wished she could poof them without seeing them, but that's just not how this worked. So, with determination, she opened the door and looked in, preparing her magic.

The intention was to instantly poof them out… but when Emma's eyes landed on the scene before her, she was caught off guard and tiled her head in an attempt to figure out what she was seeing exactly. Yes, one woman was an immortal siren, the other a werewolf, but how could they possibly twist like that?

Ruby gasped in shock and hurriedly disentangled herself from the confused looking Lorelei, attempting to cover herself. "Oh my god! Emma! Uhm… I…"

Lorelei snapped her head to the door, losing the confused look and putting on a wolfish grin instead, "Emma, you aren't invited. Is Regina out there though?" She leaned towards Emma to see past her and that was when Emma finally shook herself out of the shock and poofed them to their own room. Emma stood there, frowning with wide eyes. She lifted her leg slightly, trying to maneuver the way they had been…

Regina felt the magic and had come upstairs to burn the interior of her closet when she spotted Emma in the doorway, looking very confused and twisting her leg around awkwardly. "What are you doing?"

Emma jumped and fell backwards, landing just outside the closet. "Hey, uhm, I was just doing nothing. Oh, well I was stretching, you know… getting ready for work."

Regina raised a brow at the blonde's horrible lying skills. The blush on her face was cute though. "Let me guess, you got a good look at them in there before you sent them away and you're trying to figure out how they were doing it?"

Emma blushed deeper and just looked down, "yeah."

Regina helped her stand and then pushed her back against the wall, licking her lips slowly she whispered, "I will make you a deal, you destroy everything in that closet for me and I will help you figure it out tonight. In fact, I bet I can show you something far more interesting…" She stood with one hand on each of Emma's hips, pulling her closer as she bit her lip before kissing her deeply. She walked away smiling darkly as Emma stood stunned.

Immediately, Emma torched everything in the closet. When it was done, she vanished the ash. She saw the vial of wolfsbane in the corner… fortunately she had made her magic only incinerate clothing. No need to burn down the whole house. She picked up the vial and put it on the dresser, mentally working out the origami sex she had witnessed. Maybe it could only be done without clothes…

….

Lorelei and Ruby landed very hard on the wood floor of their little apartment. Ruby, was blushing furiously, still trying to cover herself. Lorelei laid back on the floor and was still giggling about it all. The look of curiosity and amazement on Emma's face was absolutely hysterical. She would have been pretty pissed if Emma had been staring at Ruby specifically, but since she was taking in the whole scene in amazement, she felt the joke she told was appropriate.

Ruby had managed to stand up, clutching her cloak around her as she stared down angrily at Lorelei, laying on the floor a giggling. "How can you think this is funny? Emma just witnessed us having sex in her closet and you're laughing. This isn't funny it's embarrassing."

Lorelei smiled up at her, "actually, Emma was enthralled by that position you had us in. I do mean 'you' had us in. I bet you a hundred dollars she is still trying to figure out how to bend like that." She stood up, giggling all over again. "Poor thing. I can't imagine why Regina hasn't shown her miracles yet. If you ask me, the little mayor has one hell of a sexy past."

Ruby shook her head in disbelief at this woman. "Even better, I can't properly shower with this damn cloak on. Ugh!" She stormed into the bathroom, looking for a small towel she could at least wash with. She usually runs around in the river during wolfs time to wash. This was going to be a very rough couple of days. She was angrily trying to wash up when she felt Lorelei watching her. Turning to tell her to go away and leave her to this ungraceful bathing, she lost all her anger as she raked her eyes over the woman. Her intricate silver and black tattoos caught the light from the window just right and sort of shimmered. Everything about her was perfect. Her heightened eyesight let her see tiny scars between quite a few runes on her body, the only trace that she had been mauled repeatedly by a wolf. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, she was mad about having to bathe with a towel and here was Lorelei, not even a little mad about getting mangled earlier.

Lorelei saw the sadness fall over her and immediately rushed in, setting the towel aside and wrapping her arms around the woman, keeping the heavy cloak on her shoulders though, she wasn't sure how much she needed to be covered exactly. She cupped her face with one hand and got her to open her beautiful eyes. "Hey, why so sad? If it really upset you that much, I will… I don't know… apologize to Emma? Is that a thing people do when they get caught naked, I mean in a closet… in someone elses closet? I could send her a card, maybe a 'thanks for letting us use your closet' card?"

Ruby huffed a laugh at her, she leaned her forehead on Lorelei's and sighed, "I'm just really sorry for attacking you. You're beautiful and perfect and I'm a beast that tries to kill you. I'm sorry."

Lorelei kissed her very lightly, "I am beautiful and perfect, but so are you. I would settle for nothing less. And, actually, things were getting a little dull around here. I'm sort of happy I got to outrun a raging wolf for a day. It gave me a little excitement." She yawned widely just then, her eyes watering from it.

Ruby giggled at her, wiping the yawn tears away. "Maybe a little too much excitement. You're exhausted, I am too. Why don't we just take a nap and try this day again later." She kissed her and turned her around, giving her a small push out the bathroom door. The siren yawned again before landing heavily on the bed. Ruby laid down beside her and covered them both with her cloak.

Lorelei instantly felt her eyes closing, she was exhausted from the healing she had to go through. She felt Ruby lay beside her and pull her in close to her, and the cloak drifting over them both. She opened her one eye enough to get a glance of the woman's small smile before letting herself drift off.

…..

The first thing Emma heard when she walked in to the station that day was David talking on the phone, "what do you mean exactly?... All of it?... Okay, yeah, I believe you I just don't understand." He continued talking for a few minutes before hanging up and looking at Emma. "So, apparently, all the stolen merchandise was returned last night. All of it, and it was all put right back where it had been taken from. And, the money from all the stores was returned to the drawers."

Emma frowned at him, "any witnesses?" David shook his head in disbelief. "Who the hell could have not only stolen all that shit, but then put it all back without being seen?"

"It's amazing two people as stupid as you could be considered law enforcement." Both Emma and David turned quickly to see Maleficent standing there dressed like she was going to a fashion show. She smirked at the faces they made at her appearance. "Stop staring, I would hate to have Snow White and Regina mad at me for your obsessive eyes."

Emma rolled her eyes and David went back to his paperwork. "Do you know who the thief is Mal?"

Maleficent shrugged and settled into a chair in front of Emma's desk. "It just seems to me that there is only one really good thief left in town since old Robbie left."

Eyes wide with understanding Emma turned to David, "have you questioned Will?" He shook his head no but stood and grabbed his jacket to go find him. "Okay, so aside from solving crime, what brings you here today?" She stared at Mal as she arranged her luxurious clothing over her crossed legs, looking distastefully at her surroundings.

"I need a little favor, nothing much."

"And that would be…?" Emma was quickly getting irritated at the exchange.

"Make your mother invite me to your coronation."

Blinking slowly a few times, Emma tried to figure this one out. "You want to go to my coronation? Why? I don't even want to go to the damn thing."

Mal waved as if this were a casual request. "Oh, you know, I just love a good party." Emma raised a questioning brow at her and she sighed, "fine, look, I was never properly coronated, thanks to Aurora, my daughter was never coronated thanks to Snow White and prince Charming. I think it's only fair that my daughter and I get to go to yours. And if your mother has any sense of responsibility or etiquette, she will crown my daughter also."

Emma couldn't contain the laughter, she laughed and laughed, until Regina walked in. "What's so funny dear?"

Mal was practically snarling at Emma and Emma was just sitting there laughing. Regina snapped her fingers at Emma a few times to make her settle down. "Oh m god, Regina, Maleficent wants my mother to crown Lily when she crowns me."

Regina rolled her eyes, not finding it as amusing as the blonde obviously did. "Emma, it's your parents fault she isn't already. Maleficent is a queen in her own rights, therefore her daughter should be crowned. It makes sense and you should suggest it to your mother, and keep in mind that if se doesn't she may have two dragons knocking on her door."

Emma stopped laughing then, she had actually forgotten that dragon part, "what am I supposed to say exactly? Hey mom, remember that time you threw Lily down a hole? Well you should have thrown a crown in too. Since you didn't, you should go ahead and crown Lily Saturday too?"

Mal nodded, "I would suggest being more tasteful, but yes that's about it. Really Regina, what do you see in this woman?"

Regina smiled fondly down at the blonde, "she has these moments, in between being an idiot, that are spectacular. I try to ignore the distasteful bits."

Emma smiled up at Regina, "you love me. And I think you should talk to my mother."

Regina shook her head, "I don't think so. Just because I gave her hair back doesn't mean we're buddies. You will talk to her." Regina nodded, obviously finished with this conversation. "Now, Sheriff, I have actual business for you to attend to." Mal said her good byes and left then, not wanting to be involved in actual work. "It would seem that our son has been skipping school, half days mostly, for the past week."

"What? No way, I thought he was a good kid."

"Well, he was, but then I think he hit that rebellious teenager stage. Anyway, it's a matter for his mother the sheriff." Regina kissed her lightly and walked out of the station while Emma tried in vain to protest.

"Awesome", she told the now empty station.

…

It was Thursday, just after noon when Henry walked away from the school. He headed for the alley behind the bar to the fire escape that led to the apartment. He glanced around to make sure no one had seen him come here and waited impatiently at the bottom of the stairs. After about ten minutes, he was about ready to go up the stairs when Lorelei started to come down them. She was wearing sweatpants and a plain blue shirt. She was barefoot, and looked like she had definitely just woken up.

When she got to the bottom she sat on the step and lit the cigarette hanging out of her mouth, squinting at him, "you're early boy."

Henry shook his head and put his watch in her face, "no, you are fifteen minutes late."

The siren puffed on her cigarette slowly before finally stretching and flicking it away, "okay. Show me what you learned last time…"

He put his hand out, prepared to do the recap of their last encounter when Emma came walking around the building, "alright kid, what's going on?"

Henry looked ready to jump out of his skin, the siren simply sat back down and leaned on the railing. "Ma! Uhm, what're you doing here?"

Emma smirked at him, "following you because you keep skipping out of school."

"Yeah, but I always do all the work, I'm not behind or anything!"

"Doesn't matter, you're still skipping. Now, before I call Regina and she goes all Evil queen on both your asses, tell me what's been going on here."

Henry sighed and hung his head, he held out a hand, palm up, and conjured a tiny fireball. It flickered like it was about to go out, but it stayed there. Emma's brows shot up in surprise, "woah! Nice, but how did you learn that?"

He gestured to Lorelei, "she has been teaching me. Problem is, you guys hate her. If I met up with her between school and her job, you guys would kill me. She refuses to do anything between 3am and about noon, so just after lunch, before schools out is the only time."

Emma looked questioningly at Lorelei, "and nevermind the fact he is skipping school? How did you even teach him without your own magic?"

Lorelei opened her eyes and glanced at her, "it's not difficult. I have been using magic so hard for so long, I can still feel what he is doing and walk him through it. As for the school thing, well, I don't really care sooooo…"

Emma rolled her eyes at them both, "Okay. Henry, why didn't you come to me or Regina to learn?"

"Because you guys are too busy with each other. Not that that's not okay!" He added quickly when she looked hurt, "I love you guys being together, but between that and the coronation, and the wedding… well you don't really have time. I need to learn, I can feel it under my skin. I have to learn to control it or I will explode, like you did."

Emma sighed and nodded, "ok. Okay. I get it. But you are still in trouble for skipping, so go back to school, now." He groaned loudly but turned and headed back to the school anyway. "Lorelei, seriously? You couldn't tell us he was coming here?"

The siren shrugged and stretched dramatically, reminding Emma of a cat. "He asked if I would teach him, I said fine. He is a grown man who may do as he pleases. I didn't see a need to tell mommies his business."

"Oh my god, he is not a grown man, he is a teenage boy! And what about Ruby?" Emma crossed her arms waiting for her answer.

Quirking a brow Lorelei answered, "why, I assure you, she is definitely a grown woman."

Emma groaned, "no, obviously that's not what I meant. Why didn't she tell us?"

Lorelei gestured up towards the apartment, "she is always asleep at this time. Exhausted, I should say," she grinned in the nastiest way Emma had seen her do yet, "I tend to get a bit aggressive in the mornings."

"I can't take any more. I'm done here." Emma said as she pulled her phone out to call Regina, turning away from the building to head back to the station.

"That's what she usually says! Are you watching us?... Is Regina?" Emma ignored the sirens calls as she walked quicker out of the alley, ignoring the womans laughter also.

"Hello?" Regina's voice instantly made Emma smile, no matter what happened.

"Hey there beautiful." Regina could hear the smile in her voice, and it made her smile too.

"Did you manage to catch him this time?"

"Yeah, apparently he has been getting magic lessons from Lorelei. He can conjure a little fireball."

The phone was silent long enough that Emma thought the brunette might have hung up, she was about to hang up and try again when she finally spoke in an anger pitched whisper, "I'm going to strangle that siren, I swear it. If she taught him anything idiotic or dangerous I swear, Emma I will…"

"Hey, Gina, chill. I told you he conjured a flicker little ball of fire that's all. He wants to learn, actually needs to learn and thinks we are both too busy to teach him."

"Miss Swan, if you call me Gina one more time I will strangle you after I have finished with the siren. Obviously we can make time for our son… why didn't Miss Lucas tell us about this? Surely she still has a functioning brain?"

Emma giggled a little, "actually, the lessons are at the perfect time to find Ruby in a sex induced coma apparently."

She thought she heard a faint gagging noise before Regina answered, "why? Why does he have to be attached to that disgusting waste of flesh?"

"I dunno, but he is. We can figure this out later, babe, I need to get back to work. That evil mayor is on my ass about paperwork."

"That evil mayor would love to be on your ass about anything, but if you call me babe, or Gina again, you may never see her ass again." The line clicked as Emma was about to retaliate.

She looked at her phone, shoving it back in her pocket. Regina wouldn't dare withhold from her. Besides, Emma thought as she smiled and walked in to the station, she saw how Regina smiled so very faintly when Emma called her babe…


	36. Chapter 36

Sorry for the long break. Sometimes things just tend to catch up! I own nothing and no one. The ideas are all mine!

Chapter 36

Regina was waiting for Henry when he walked into the mansion. He stopped walking when he saw her and hung his head before shuffling over to where she stood waiting. "I'm grounded, I know. I'm sorry, for skipping school, but not for learning magic."

Regina pursed her lips and sighed, "fair enough. You would be in far more trouble, but I have been told that you have kept up perfectly with your schoolwork. So, yes, you're grounded. However, it is my understanding that you didn't think Emma or I could find time for you." She sighed heavily at his nod. Walking the short distance between them, she wrapped him in a tight hug that he immediately melted into. "I'm sorry you think we do not have time for you Henry, a lot has happened very quickly I suppose. A lot more is headed our way too, as usual. But, Henry, you have to remember that Emma and I are always here for you." She smiled at him as he smiled at her, "and if you promise to never speak to Lorelei again I will give you the Mercedes when you start driving…"

He started laughing as she scrunched her face at him, "mom, she isn't that bad. If it helps at all, she didn't even understand how school and kids works. She asked if I was supposed to be somewhere when I asked her to teach me, but I told her it was fine. Remember that when she was alive, kids were taught to kill food and count coins. They didn't really do much talking about the education system in the underworld…" He raised his brows at her. "Do you want to see what I learned…?"

Regina rolled her eyes playfully, "I can't imagine what she could have taught you without her own magic, but yes, I would love to see it so I can correct it." He smirked at her and held his hand up, immediately producing a tiny ball of fire. She gasped and jumped back slightly, "Henry! That's amazing! How did you learn to do that in just a few weeks?"

He shrugged, making the flames disappear. "she can feel the magic, and as she talked me through it, she told me what to shift and focus on. I told you, she's actually a decent adult, you know, when she is barely awake, and hungover… and stuff."

Shaking her head Regina sighed heavily again, "Okay, fine. She isn't as bad as I like to say she is. That doesn't mean you're in less trouble. I want you in your room this evening, writing a paper apologizing to your teachers for skipping."

He groaned and drug his feet all the way up the stairs, but secretly, he was stoked that he wasn't in a bigger world of trouble. After he closed his door, he pulled out his phone and texted Lorelei. Ruby had taught her how to use a cell phone and the siren had become very accomplished at using it. He needed to ask her how to turn the fire different colors again, he didn't quite have the hang of it…

Regina smiled as she headed to the kitchen to make dinner. Emma should be home soon and after dinner the two women had to go to the Charmings for the final preparations for the coronation.

Emma was groaning in agony as she listened to her mother over the phone. She had just informed Snow about Lily's crowning and Snow was geeking out pretty hard.

"Emma, how can you do this to me? Do you have any idea how difficult it will be to change things enough to add Lily into the ceremony? I have been secretly planning yours for nearly two years, and now you want me to change it completely in two days?!" Snow screamed frustratedly and Emma held the phone away from her ear.

"Okay, mom, calm down. It cannot be that hard. Just make everything plural and Lily and I will just move at the same time. You know, instead of 'I dub thee Emma princess' make it 'I dub… thee and thee… Emma and Lily… uhm, princesses!'".

Snow was dumbfounded, "Emma, please tell me you are not serious. If you are serious, I might crown Neal instead."

Emma flung her feet down from her desk in anger and shock, "whoa! Hold up! You can crown him instead?! What the hell mom? Do that! He can be little prince, why do I have to do any of this shit?!"

"Emma, he is a baby. He will have a coronation once he can speak. If we go back to the enchanted forest right now, and me and your father get our heads knocked off by an ogre, do you really think Neal can handle the kingdom?"

Emma frowned deeply and checked her watch, dinner should be ready soon. "Fine, whatever, you can figure it out mom. Regina probably has dinner ready, so we'll be over after that."

"Okay Emma. Okay, I will try to manage and we will hope for the best."

Emma rolled her eyes and hung up, stretching and putting her jacket on. She headed home for what was almost definitely going to be a five star dinner and a one star visit to the parents.

…

"Are you really sure about this?" Ruby frowned at the woman currently checking lines and wires across the tiny stage.

"Of course I am. Like I said, if it goes very badly, I will simply put everyone to shame and call an end to it. But, I also have a backup plan." Lorelei winked at the unsure expression on Ruby's face. She worried far too much.

"What is the backup plan?"

"My secret weapon, Belle."

Ruby blinked repeatedly at her, "Belle? Don't you hate Belle? I'm pretty sure she isn't overly fond of you…"

Glaring at the woman, Lorelei put her arms around her. "My dear, lovely Ruby. I know you have a jealous streak, but you need to stop trying to put a wedge between Belle and I."

Shaking her head, Ruby just closed her eyes and hugged the siren back, "I hope she at least knows she is your secret weapon…?" Judging from the look the siren gave her before kissing her quickly and running off again, Ruby highly doubted Belle even intended to be around this place tonight. She sighed again and headed to the bar to start her shift, people were already taking up seats around the place for the karaoke night.

It was only two hours in to the karaoke night and Lorelei had already finished a six pack and an attempt to tolerate these people. The very first one should have made her pull the plug. Leroy had come to the bar already a bit drunk and had demanded he get to go first. Lorelei had been so offended by the mans vocal chords, she had let him finish his rendition of Cher's "if I could turn back time".

Ruby had began worrying about her girlfriends sanity when David walked in. She smiled at him as he sat down and put his forehead on the bar top. "You look like shit, David. Family gathering just let out?"

He looked up at her and asked for a beer, taking a long drink before answering, "I love my family, I do, so much. But, seriously, if Snow and Regina can't get along for five minutes, how are we supposed to co-exist once her and Emma are married?" Ruby shrugged, not interrupting his vent session. "I mean, she just got her hair back, and the first thing my wife says to Regina when she walks in is 'why didn't you guys eat dinner here?'".

Confused, Ruby asked, "I don't get it. How is that a bad thing?"

David snorted, "well, it seems innocent right? But let's all remember that Regina is Ms. Master chef and she takes every opportunity to insult Snow's cooking…" Ruby nodded as she caught on. "Right, so Regina responds with 'well, Snow, we wanted to eat a delicious meal instead of choking down burnt chunks of mystery meat.'" Ruby grimaced hard, feeling his pain. "So, obviously, that starts a shouting match between Snow and Regina. It lasted about 45 minutes before Regina poofed her and Emma away. This meant that I was stuck with a raging wife for the last hour."

Ruby patted his hand and got him a second beer, "well, you survived. You're a strong one."

David smiled at her tiredly and finished his first bottle, taking the second one happily. "What's going on in here tonight?"

Ruby gestured to the stage where Lorelei was pushing a staggering Archie off the stage. He had gotten halfway through his drunken version of Billy Joel's piano man before Lorelei pulled his plug. "Karaoke. So far, everyone is god awful." She laughed with David as Archie attempted to sing loudly without music or microphone before someone helped him away from the stage.

"You know what?" David asked as he finished his second beer, "I can sing." Before Ruby could stop him, prince Charming strutted up to an angry looking siren, demanding she let him try. She smirked at him before nodding and heading back to the DJ booth. David cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders a bit, waving at a few people as he waited for his music to start.

"What is he doing?" Ruby jumped as Snow sat on a stool and spoke.

"Snow! Uhm, I think he's gonna sing a song…" Ruby shrugged as her friend rolled her eyes andgestured for a water.

"Do you know what his current favorite song is?" Ruby shook her head and Snow shook hers too, "You're about to find out…"

As the beat came in, David began dancing with a surprising amount of skill…

I'm that flight that you get on, international

First class seat on my lap girl, riding comfortable

Cause I know what that girl them need,

New York to Haiti

I got lipstick stamps on my passport,

You make it hard to leave

The bar crowd went crazy as David sang and danced, even Snow and Ruby were moving with the music. He was actually, weirdly, good at this. Everyone was smiling and starting to dance along as he kept going.

Been around the world, don't speak the language

But your booty don't need explaining

All I really need to know is

When you talk dirty to me!

Ruby glanced up at Lorelei, hoping she didn't cut him short, the whole bar was enjoying this one. Lorelei was nodding her head and lip singing along with him, she was also liking this performance. David kept going, dancing in a manner rather unbecoming of a king of the white kingdom, but amazingly well. When he finished it was to wild applause and pats on the back as he made his way back to the bar. He saw Snow laughing and waving at him and swept her up in his arms leading her to the door in a very happy little dance. Smiling, Ruby made her way up to the DJ booth, "wow, who saw that one coming?" Lorelei was laughing and setting up some music to play.

"Yeah, who knew that guy had rhythm. I think he became my secret weapon tonight. I will save Belle for next time." She hit play and as the dance beat radiated from the speakers, a lot of people took to dancing and just having a very good time, especially for a Thursday night. Lorelei glided over to the sexy waitress and gave her a heated kiss, but was interrupted before too long by her phone going off again. "If that's the boy again I am going to strangle him." She pulled her phone out as Ruby pulled away and headed back to the bar.

Ruby was behind the counter when the siren came running at her, vaulting over the counter and talking far too quickly for Ruby to keep up. "Oh my god Lorelei! What's wrong?"

In full panic mode, Lorelei shoved her phone at Ruby as she began taking long swigs from the bottle of Patron nearby. Ruby quickly found the problem on the phone.

Regina: So, I heard karaoke night was torture for you. How terrible. As the mayor, I have convinced the owner, Belle, that you will do karaoke every Thursday night for at least three hours. You will not interrupt any singer. Enjoy dear.

Ruby grimaced hard before yanking the bottle away from Lorelei, "hey, it's not that bad, it's one night a week and it wasn't that bad!"

Lorelei looked at her like she had sprouted three heads, "are you insane? Have you not been listening this entire time? If that man hadn't sang the last song I was pulling the plug on the entire idea! This town has the single worst vocalists I have ever experienced in my life. I'm fairly confident my ears are bleeding." She allowed Ruby to pull her into a tight hug as she sighed heavily.

"Well, maybe they will get better, you know, with practice." She laughed as the siren groaned heavily and shook her head violently. Ruby couldn't help but grin widely at Regina's methods.

,…

The song David sang was talk dirty by Jason Derulo. I own nothing.


	37. Chapter 37

I have overcome my writers block! Hopefully I will update regularly again. I apologize for the extended wait time! This is sort of preliminary chapter to show myself I can keep going. I am working on the next already! If you are still with me, thank you! If you just found me, thank you! Let me know what you think! As usual, I do not own OUaT blah blah blah…

Chapter 37

Friday, which is usually a good day. It's the end of the week, here comes the weekend. Except, this Friday is the last day before a coronation, which means Emma is stressed out and cannot make her mother stop calling her. This could be the reason Regina just found a cell phone ringing continuously at the bottom of a clothes hamper. As she picked the phone out, she answered it and simply said "hello…" before she held the device at arms length as the voice of Snow White came screeching out of it.

Emma walked into the laundry room with a donut hanging out of her mouth and very casually took the cell phone from a bewildered looking Regina, hit the end button and then dropped it in the washing machine, closing the lid. She then walked out of the room leaving Regina to look at the washing machine warily before following her to the kitchen.

"Emma… I hate to question your sanity so early in the day, but what was all that about?" Regina sat at the kitchen island and and waited for a reply.

Emma finished her doughnut, very casually, before answering. "Snow. She won't stop calling. So I stopped answering."

Rubbing her temples for a moment before trying again, Regina asked "and our solution is to hide the phone? Do we not think perhaps muting it, or maybe turning it off would be better?"

Emma frowned a little before heading out of the kitchen, fetching her phone. She returned to sip her coffee and set her now turned off phone on the counter. "You're right. Much better, thank you."

Regina couldn't help but giggle at her very own lovely Emma Swan. "She will eventually hunt you down instead you know. Your mother is a very skilled tracker."

Emma shrugged, "yeah well, I am a very skilled hider. Besides, it's not hard to outrun a woman pushing a stroller." Emma smiled broadly as she wrapped her arms around her fiance. She went for a kiss but Regina pulled away abruptly shaking her head.

"No. Absolutely no kisses until you wash your entire face. Last time I let you near me after a doughnut I became covered in glaze." Regina shot at her before quickly examining her clothing for any sugary residues.

Emma shrugged and backed up a few steps, "okay. But if I remember correctly, you weren't mad very long. In fact I distinctly remember you losing all your anger about two minutes into the shower you insisted you needed to get the glaze off yourself…"

Blushing slightly Regina let her eyes travel up and down Emma while answering her, "well, I imagine I would have been able to retain my anger if a certain blonde woman hadn't insisted upon coming with me to help make sure every trace of sugar was gone."

As the two smiled at one another, preparing a repeat performance, they were interrupted by a loud banging at the front door. Emma groaned loudly and actually fell to the floor. Regina jumped up to check on her, actually concerned, but then she saw Emma was squeezing her eyes tightly shut and had her tongue hanging out. "Emma, really. It's got to be your mother. Get up!" Emma didn't move. "Emma!" Regina kicked her lightly in the leg. Finally, as the banging at the door continued, Regina sighed heavily and went to answer it.

When the door finally swung open, Snow shouted immediately, "where is she?! She has been ignoring my calls all morning Regina! You know how important this is! Where is she?!"

Regina stared blankly at her until she was quiet. "She's dead."

"Excuse me?"

With a gesture towards the kitchen Regina repeated, "She's dead. It was very sudden. The funeral will be on Sunday, I imagine. Of course you're invited." Regina made to close the door but Snow bolted past her and marched like a storm trooper straight to the kitchen. Shrugging with amusement, Regina grabbed her keys and purse and headed to her car to go to work.

Snow walked straight to Emma who was still sprawled on the floor, tongue hanging out. "Emma, you get up and stop playing dead. You will help me and you will cooperate or so help me I will find something to trade to Regina to make her turn you into a child again."

Emma pulled her tongue back in and peeped at her mother with one eye, "you wouldn't". Snow raised a brow and put on a 'try me' face. Deciding not to push her luck, Emma sighed heavily and got to her feet, sitting on a stool and dropping her head to the counter top. "Fine. What?"

After the most torturous two hours of her life, Emma managed to get her mother to leave and she headed to work, quite late. Fortunately, no big bad monsters showed up in town that she had missed. There was, however David on the phone at the station, looking uncomfortable at best. He hung up and looked at Emma with pleading eyes. "Hey, would you mind heading over to Grannys and maybe getting Leroy to put his clothes back on?"

Eyes wide with shock Emma said, "What? It's like ten a.m." David held his hands up in agreement. "Ugh, fine. Not like my morning could get any worse." She put her jacket right back on and headed out.

…..

Lorelei hadn't slept as well as she wished. Ruby on the other hand was not in the mood to be awake based on the way she shoved the siren off the bed when she attempted to wake her. So Lorelei paced around the room for a while before finally reaching for another cigarette only to find the pack empty. Groaning at such an atrocious inconvenience, she dressed and headed out to get more. It was an ungodly hour, probably nine a.m. and she was less than enthusiastic about having to leave. She went to the small store and (as usual) handed the man a pile of cash and let him sort out how much he needed. He was a quirky, twitchy man, Ruby had said his name but between how twitchy he was, and all his sneezing, she couldn't be bothered to remember it. He pushed the rest of the cash back to her and she stuffed it into her pocket, taking her smokes and leaving. She was just about to leave when the grouchy man who sang the Cher song called out for her to stop. She sighed and turned to look at him, "what is it, Cher killer?"

Leroy paid no attention to her name calling and instead asked her, "what happened in the convent the other day?"

Squinting at him, Lorelei tried to decide what precisely he wanted, but really didn't understand. "I have no idea as I was not there. Go away." She turned to leave and he had the audacity to grab her arm. Before anyone could have known what was happening, Leroy was sprawled on the floor of the shop and Lorelei was standing over him. "You know what's funny, little man? I don't need magic to teach someone to keep their hands to themselves." Sneezy was so scared by the interaction he was hiding behind the counter, so Lorelei grabbed Leroy by his ankle and dragged him back to the pharmacy area, intending to make him rather sorry about grabbing ahold of her.

….

When Emma walked into the diner, there were only three people there. Granny who was standing behind the counter with her arms crossed, looking thoroughly displeased, Leroy who was simply standing, very calmly in the middle of the diner, entirely nude, and Lorelei who was sitting in a chair with her feet propped up on the table with her eyes closed. Sighing heavily, Emma approached Leroy. "Leroy, why are you naked?"

Leroy looked at her with slightly glazed eyes and smiled, "oh, hello Emma. I'm just learning something."

Frowning, Emma looked at Granny with questions in her eyes, but Granny just stood there, looking a bit more mad every second. "Uhm, ok, but what could you learn by being naked at the diner?"

With the same glassy eyed smile he said, "I'm learning that no one wants to touch me, so I shouldn't touch other people."

"Get dressed."

"I can't yet."

"When can you?"

"When someone touches me."

Emma took about half a second to think before kicking the legs of the chair out from Lorelei. The siren hit the floor and immediately rolled over clutching her head. Calmly, Emma reached down and grabbed her by the arm and physically threw her at Leroy. They collided and all the expected violence occurred. Emma pulled her phone out and sent a text, waiting just a few seconds before a reply came and then put it away again. Leroy and Lorelei were actively trying to choke each other as Emma waved her hand and the siren vanished in a cloud of white smoke. Leroy jumped up, attempted to cover himself with a napkin and ran out the back door of the diner.

Nodding in approval, Granny uncrossed her arms and promptly got a to go cup of coffee ready for Emma. "Good news," Granny said as she poured the cup, "Lorelei can cook up a sort of mind control potion using modern medications."

"Awesome." Emma replied as she took her coffee cup. She nodded her thanks to Granny before heading back to the station. When she opened the door to the station, she could hear Lorelei yelling, presumably at David.

"This is ridiculous! I did nothing wrong! I know why she did this, it's because Regina is in love with me and this isn't right! It's an abuse of power!" As Emma turned the corner, Lorelei was calling out to David while shaking the jail bars vigorously. Upon seeing Emma she promptly stopped, cocked a brow at her and sat on the tiny cot in the cell.

David uncovered his ears and looked at Emma, "do we have to keep her?"

Emma nodded, sipping her coffee. "She created a potion, naturally, and made Leroy stand naked in the diner until someone touched him."

David frowned in confusion but Lorelei piped up, "He deserved it. He grabbed ahold of me, aggressively. It frightened me so…" The siren sighed in a very 'damsel in distress' manner. "I simply wanted to show him that no one wished to be touched by him, and then this blonde bohemian interrupted."

David shook his head, dismissing it all. "Well I'm glad I got your text to lock both cells tightly. They were wide open beforehand."

Emma sat at her desk, propping her feet up in a leisurely way. "I figure, controlling someone using a potion warrants a few nights in jail."

"A few nights? Are you entirely serious?" Lorelei was standing at the bars again, clearly angry. "I have work to do, in case you've forgotten."

"And we have a coronation to attend to, without your interruptions." Emma smiled at the prisoner sweetly while David chuckled. Emma pulled her phone out, sending a text.

Emma: Hey there, I got a present for you.

Regina: Oh do you now?

Emma: Yep. One siren, locked up in a jail cell.

Regina: For how long?

Emma: I'd like to say a few days, but in all reality, until she finds a way out.

Regina: Well, without her magic, I don't think she will find it too easy to escape.

It was then that Emma felt a slight chill as she felt Regina's magic wrap around the building and settle on the jail cell. Lorelei noticed too and made a loud and exaggerated groan as she flopped onto the cot.

Emma: I love when your magic washes over me ;)

Regina: Really? Imagine what it would feel like inside of you…

Emma gulped and tried to hide her red face from her father who was shaking his head and pretending he hadn't noticed. She decided to put her phone away before she made an unscheduled visit to the mayors office.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 37

Snow bounced out of bed and shot around the loft, softly humming a happy tune. It was Saturday. Finally! All the hard work and bear wrestling with Emma was going to shine like the sun today! David was awoken with eggs and bacon and the coffee was strong. Neal was happily drooling and cooing in his little swing and all was going to be perfect. The sunshine was finally coming through the windows and not a cloud in sight. It was going to be a perfect day.

…..

Emma groaned loudly as Regina repeatedly shook her to wake her up. "No. I don't want to. I won't do it."

Sighing, Regina stopped shaking her and instead cuddled up on her chest. "Okay, but you already agreed to it so now you have to do it."

Emma frowned, still refusing to open her eyes. "I agreed to it so I could marry you so we could have awesome sex."

Chuckling, Regina said "I see. So since we are already having awesome sex, no need to marry me?"

"That is not what I said."

"Well, if there is no intent to marry me, then you do not need to go through with the coronation."

Emma waited for more, but the brunette fell silent. "Sooo, I don't have to get crowned?"

Regina shrugged in an uncaring manner. "No. The only reason I would insist upon it is if you intend to marry me. But, not everyone gets married, it's not that big a deal I suppose."

"Marriage really isn't that big a deal, I mean, it doesn't change anything really."

"Right. So, don't get crowned and we won't get married." Regina managed to hid her wicked grin from the blonde.

Emma smiled broadly and snuggled against Regina tighter, feeling a bit lucky at the moment. She started to let her hands roam a bit lower than they had been and ducked in for a kiss that would hopefully lead to a celebration.

All at once Regina poofed to a standing position, fully dressed in a killer dress and was checking her hair in the mirror. "You still need to get up dear."

"But why? It's early and I don't have a coronation to be forced into."

Regina smirked at her and said, "I understand that, sheriff, but I intend to burn this town to the ground in a few moments and I would prefer you were among the casualties."

Eyes wide with shock Emma could only stutter out "What? Why?"

"Emma, if you're not going to marry me, then I have no reason to continue this relationship. If I lose you I will also lose my mind. If I lose my mind, I will simply have to let the Evil Queen out to play." She shrugged as if this were the most normal thing in the world.

Emma rolled her eyes and threw the blankets off, finally sitting up. "I see. So basically, it's my choice to not be crowned, but if I choose not to, you will kill everybody in town because you can't marry me?" Regina nodded and Emma stood up, making her way to the closet to get dressed. "This is bullshit."

Chuckling, Regina changed into a more appropriate dress for the coronation before heading downstairs to start the coffee. "That's perfect dear. Always the Savior."

Emma groaned loudly again and muttered, "this day is going to be the perfect hell."

….

Ruby stretched out as best she could on the stiff cot in the jail cell. She growled slightly at Lorelei who was in fact the reason she had to sleep on this ridiculous thing in a jail cell. She had been sleeping rather nicely before her phone started ringing the morning before. Of course, as soon as she woke up she knew someone was calling to tell her what this siren had done because her senses told her Lorelei wasn't in the room. Still, it was a bit shocking to learn she had concocted some sort of mind control potion in the little pharmacy. She found it impressive, unfortunately Emma did not. She hadn't even tried to get her out of jail, knowing about the coronation and how much everyone needed it to be perfect. Unfortunately, she also didn't have the heart to tell Lorelei no when she asked her to stay with her. She stood, stretching out the cramped muscles in her back. Behind her, Lorelei stretched out with a hand that snaked around Rubys stomach, which quickly attempted to move lower.

Smacking her hand, Ruby turned around to glare at the siren. "That isn't going to happen when you're in jail. If you keep trying like you did for three hours last night, you can sleep alone until they let you out."

The siren simply laid back down and closed her eyes. "This is ridiculous. Tell them to let me out and I promise not to attend the specialest hat party."

"Coronation, and they will not let you out so I won't waste my breath." Ruby motioned for the night watch to let her out, it was barely dawn, but she was angry enough to leave now.

Snapping to attention Lorelei called out as she walked out, "you're leaving me?! I thought you loved me?"

Ruby rolled her eyes and sighed before responding, "I do love you, my teeth can prove it again if you want to play the doubt game. I am going to get ready for todays events because I am not a rude ass who acts like a wild animal so I was invited. You need to consider ways to not go to jail, and then you won't have to worry about me leaving you alone." With the sirens face in a mock of indignation, Ruby left. Honestly, she did feel bad about Lorelei being in jail, and she did miss her. Honestly the only reason she said no for three hours was because of the night watch staring at them. But, in this case, honesty wasn't going to help Lorelei pull her head out of her ass. This was going to be a very long couple of days.

…

After struggling not to smack her mother all day long, Emma was finally standing in a private room for her to get dressed in, wearing a big, ridiculously voluminous gown thing. The bottom ring stuck out so far, Emma couldn't reach it with her foot. At least she wouldn't be able to trip over it, on the bright side. She was currently waiting to be told her appearance would be needed with a ten minute warning. She had been ready for about fifteen minutes, but was given reason to wait in this room until called for.

Without a knock, the door popped open and a cheery Snow clapped her hands and bounced a bit looking Emma up and down. "Oh! Emma! It's perfect!" She started to come towards Emma for a hug, but an unusually flushed Emma held a hand up and shouted "no!" Snow looked hurt and confused but Emma very quickly explained.

"Uhm, I love you mom, and I know you want a hug, but my dress is so pretty and stuff, I don't want to chance a last minute wrinkle…" Emma smiled big and gestured for Snow to go out the door again, "now, Mom, please, make sure everything is good to go." Emma nearly forced Snow out and leaned heavily on the door frame, biting her lip so hard she drew blood.

Finally, she let out a loud breath she had been holding and she took several deep breaths before she could stand upright again. She held onto the doorway to steady herself as Regina managed to remove herself from under the gown that had far too much room underneath of it.

Wiping her chin in a very regal manner, Regina looked Emma up and down before saying, (somewhat breathlessly), "Yes, I think everything fits perfectly. Good thing I checked, as it turns out, your underwear were completely out of place."

Emma sighed heavily and took a few more deep breaths before saying, "yes, thank you." They left the dressing room together, heading to the main hall, meeting Lily along the way. As they neared to doors, Regina slipped off to join the crowd and Emma and Lily waited for their time.

The hall was decorated in every royal thing Snow could think of. All the guests were dressed in the very best clothes. The entire town had been invited, and it seemed they had nearly all shown up. Everyone was so very focused on the two soon to be crowned princesses entering the hall, no one noticed the sun had been obscured by black billowing clouds…


	39. Chapter 39

I just realized I marked the last chapter as 37, but I do not feel like fixing it. So, well… this is chapter 39!

Chapter 39

Lorelei was softly humming to herself as she bounced a ball off the wall of her cell while laying on her back on the cot. She had tried talking with the guard, but the short man had fallen asleep. She almost was offended, but he seemed to pass out in a narcoleptic manner so she figured he couldn't help it. She had spent hours just bouncing this ball and singing, or humming quietly. She began day dreaming again as the mental tune shifted again. She stopped throwing the ball, lost in the thoughts of her own mind. Ruby was always there, at the top of them all. She smiled as she recalled the look on the womans face when she sang this song to her, the words slipping out in a whisper.

What a big heart I have,

The better to love you with.

Little red riding hood,

Even bad wolves can be good

She smiled then and turned her head to tell the sleeping guard about it, but then she caught a glance out the window. She sat up, frowning at the dark clouds in the sky. Focusing, she could feel the magic. She listened carefully, but there were no voices coming from the street. No one had noticed, she would bet. All caught up in the shiny hat party probably. Standing, she went to the bars, attempting to wake the ridiculous excuse for a guard.

"Hey! Little man!" The guard didn't move at all. Rolling her eyes, Lorelei thought perhaps calling his actual name would rouse him. She opened her mouth to call out but then shut it again, realizing she couldn't recall his name. It was something stupid, she was sure. "Uhm… Twitchy!" Nothing. "Scratchy!" Nothing again. Perhaps she should make more effort to listen and retain names. "Shitty, Sniffy, Dickie!" Concentrating, she was about to try a few more but before she could, a woman was giggling in the hallway. "Who's there?" The woman came into view of the siren, smiling broadly. She reminded Lorelei of a cat who had just cornered it's prey. "Who are you? I never forget a woman's face and you, I do not know."

The woman walked into the room and stood near the sleeping guard. She glanced at him before kicking him awake roughly. The man snorted and grunted, waking up. He focused his eyes on her and then he jumped up and squealed before running out the door in a frightened haste.

"Hey, come back here with the keys…" The outer door slammed shut as the man ran out of the station. Lorelei rolled her eyes, glaring at the woman. "Thanks a lot. You could have grabbed the keys from mr. Sticky before you let him run off."

The mystery woman grinned at the siren and raised a brow, stepping within a foot of the jail door. Lorelei backed up when she felt magic come from the woman and the door eased open. Scratching her head, Lorelei waved a hand through the door that had been sealed with Regina's magic. "Hmm… I suppose I owe you a thanks." The siren gave her a slight bow and then walked a circle around the woman. "Now, let's see." She stopped in front of her and looked her up and down once more before smiling at her, "there's only one person who could so easily what I am assuming was Regina's blood magic…"

Zelena chuckled darkly and gave a small bow of her own, "Zelena, at your service, siren queen."

Surprised at the respectful tones, Lorelei looked sideways at this wicked woman. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence? Surely you need me for some nefarious plans?"

Putting one hand on Lorelei's shoulder, Zelena just grinned and said, "actually, I need my mother, and apparently, you have her in there with you." As the sirens eyes widened in shock, they both vanished in a puff of green smoke.

…

The coronation was going magnificently. Emma and Lily remembered what to do and what to say, with a few hiccups as Emma would have to glance at the words written in tiny letters on her forearm. The glittering crowns were placed on their heads and everyone cheered. Emma was ready to bolt, feeling it was over, but Snow caught her arm and everyone started dancing and celebrating loudly.

Regina was on her way to get a glass of wine for herself and poor Emma when she felt her blood magic she had cast on the jail disrupted and then eliminated entirely. She gasped and somehow Emma heard it from across the room. "Regina! What's wrong? Why are you so pale?" Emma started feeling over the brunettes face, checking for sickness, when Regina grabbed her wrists and whispered in her ear so no other would hear.

"The magic on the jail, it's gone."

Emma whispered back, "she figured it out? I mean it's not like we were going to hold her forever…"

Regina shook Emma by the wrists a little, "Emma! Lorelei has no magic, she couldn't have broken it. No one could have broken it, it was blood magic. Only my blood relation could have undone that spell."

Emma slowly got a look of understanding on her face and then looked slightly panicked. "Zelena! Holy shit, but how?" Emma shook her head, telling Regina not to try and answer. Using her own magic, Emma poofed them to the station only to find the place empty. "Shit!"

Regina felt around with her senses. "It was her. Why would she want the siren?"

Both women exchanged knowing looks and changed clothes magically and then headed to find the other heroes to explain everything they could. Two steps outside and they both stopped to stare, wide eyed at the sky. "Regina, please tell me I'm stupid because I think that feels a lot like Rumple's magic."

Regina took a deep breath and grabbed Emma's hand as they rushed to meet Snow and David and a few others who had come out of the hall after them and stopped to stare at the sky. "I know his magic, and although it is changed, it is still his."


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The town was currently in a state of panic. People were running around trying to prepare for the nightmare of Rumplestiltskin with immense power like never before. The usual line up of heroes were trying desperately to get everyone to go home and wait it out, but they weren't exactly calm either. Snow and David were more successful in calming people and sending them home, they had done this before when fighting the evil queen of course. Regina and Emma on the other hand were not really equipped for this task.

Regina grabbed a man she didn't know and turned him to look her in the eye, "go home. If you do not go home and shut your mouth this instant I am going to become your immediate concern." She stared him down for a few seconds before the man bolted off towards his home, a little more scared than before.

Emma was trying to calm a woman who was the grocery store employee, "ok, well I mean yes, Gold is way more powerful than anyone around at the moment, but I mean, we will probably think of some way to stop him." At the look of horror on the womans face Emma tried again, "I mean, how bad could it get? Maybe if you go home he won't find you and you can survive?" The woman started crying and Emma was at a total loss until Regina stepped in to save her.

"Emily. Go home. Gold wouldn't want to kill you, and if he did he wouldn't set foot in that shack you live in." The woman ran off and Regina smiled lightly at Emma. "Well I'm sick of this already."

Emma was about to agree, but David had gotten a hold of a bull horn and addressed the people still in the streets. "Everybody! We need you all to go home and stay there until this is over. We will take care of it, we always do. Right now, go home so we can focus on the threat instead of all of you, please!"

Regina rolled her eyes at his lame words that lacked enthusiasm, but the people actually started drifting away. Eventually, only Snow, David, Emma, Regina, Henry and Ruby remained. Ruby hadn't gone more than a foot from Henry since she found out Lorelei was gone, constantly asking if she was alright. Henry had told her that she didn't feel kidnapped or tortured. She actually felt amused, curious and a little fuzzy feeling that he couldn't quite decipher. They had found a way to find her though, all they had to do was follow the true love line coming from Ruby to the siren. Of course, Henry had a line to her too but he had many lines and he couldn't tell which led to the siren herself.

As he started to tell everyone that he could find her, there was an immense wave of power that nearly knocked everyone down. There, in the middle of the street, was Mr. Gold. He looked the same. A nice suit, shiny shoes, hair done just right. He didn't look like the lord of the underworld and dark one. But he was smiling in a way that made it clear, he knew they had no chance.

Ruby grabbed Regina and whispered hurriedly into her ear and with a pained look, Regina nodded. Ruby grabbed Henry and they darted off between some buildings, to go find the only chance they had of surviving Rumple.

Gold watched the exchange, and assumed Ruby was taking Henry somewhere they thought would be safe from him. He chuckled at that, no where was out of his reach now. But, of course, Regina would want the wolf to protect her son. He put them out of his mind quickly as unimportant information to be thought of later. He stared down the tiny group of opposition. With a rather lazy wave of his hand, they were all shackled and chained to the ground where they stood. Emma and Regina's magic was safely contained in a leather cuff and even they knew they had no chance. No one struggled to get free. This was going to be a lovely take over.

He walked close to the group and asked in a polite tone, "where is my wife?"

They all looked at each other, but Regina answered, "she doesn't want anything to do with you Gold. She moved on, and I seriously suggest you do the same."

He chuckled at that. "Now dearie, I am trying to be civil to you all. You know you cannot stop me. Tell me, where is she?"

Regina smirked as an idea crashed in to her. Now usually, she thinks things through a bit more, but there wasn't time for that now. "Last warning, Gold. Just walk away, because you really don't want to know where your EX-wife is."

Anger flared in him as he grabbed her throat, "tell me or they will watch you die."

Regina smiled brightly, "alright. Belle is currently with the one person who was willing to help her with the child she is carrying. The child she got back from you." Regina paused, watching the emotions play on his face before continuing, "Only one person in this town was willing to help her raise your spawn, Gold."

Emma and the others were keeping their faces blank, trying to figure out what exactly Regina was doing, but failed to see until Regina finished her thoughts. "Belle, is with Lorelei, of course."

As the outrage and fear warred on Rumple's face, he took a few steps back, obviously his thoughts racing. Emma understood then what Regina was doing, but the siren still had that collar on…

Snow caught on and added to the already thickening plot. "The town couldn't really accept her having your child, except Lorelei. For some reason, the siren didn't care. Her and Belle sort of secluded themselves from everyone else."

Regina rubbed her throat where his grip had been, it was time to go all or nothing, "well, it makes sense they were drawn to each other, I mean Lorelei gave Belle her baby back and Belle got that collar off…"

Rumple was on her in a flash, lifting her off the ground and snapping the chains, "IMPOSSIBLE! That collar is of her own magic, only her magic could break it! I designed it using a piece of her own charm, nothing but her own magic could have broken it, and she couldn't use her magic because of it!"

He threw Regina down and stared at her, a fire burning in his eyes, but Regina had her answer. Only Lorelei's magic could break it, Lorelei couldn't touch her magic… but Henry had a piece of it. If there were any hope of breaking it, Henry would be the only one. He was on his way now, but he had no reason to grab the collar, which is why he hadn't broken it already. Somehow, they had to tell him. As the chains grabbed and held her once more, she decided that Rumple thinking she was free was the only chance they had right now. So, naturally, she explained to him, "well, when they shared true loves kiss, Belle must have had enough of a connection to break through."

Gold stumbled backwards shaking his head angrily, "no. Belle is my true love…"

Emma stared him down, he was breaking, "she was. But when she heard what you did, and that you weren't coming back, that love died. Regina has had three true love's, Belle had you, now Lorelei. We all know that true love is the most powerful magic of all…"

With a roar, Rumple vanished in a cloud of black. David had been working to free himself and had finally succeeded and when Gold left he dropped from his shackled and immediately took the cuff off Emma and Regina who then freed Snow. "We need to find Henry," he said.

Regina nodded, limping and leaning on Emma, she had been injured a bit when Gold threw her down. "But Henry and Red can track the siren, we can't track any of them."

Snow cleared her throat, "actually, I am an experienced tracker, thank you very much." She went to the edge then and started searching, quickly finding a path. Pointing she said "they started here, let's go. If Rumple finds them or the siren before we do, we have no chance at all."

Emma used her magic to heal Regina and they set off into the woods after Henry.

…

As soon as Belle learned that Rumple was headed to town, she bolted. She wasn't a coward by any means, but it wasn't just about her anymore. She had a child to protect from it's father now. She ran into the woods, trying to figure out a way to hide from him, but really, he was so powerful, what could she do? She ran as far as she could before she had to sit, breathing heavily.

"No no, you have to keep going now, this isn't far enough!" Belle jumped at the voice, looking around for where it had come from. Wil burst from the trees and grabbed her hand, urging her to keep going. "come on, come on! You may enjoy getting skewered by the dark one, but I am far too pretty to die today!"

Belle pulled her arm from him, "Wil! How long have you been following me?"

He looked around hastily, obviously wanting to run, "since the first moment I laid eyes on you, now, let's run."

She took a few steps, but faltered, she was just too exhausted from running. "I can't Wil, I'm sorry, I'm too tired."

He took a deep breath, and without much warning at all, he picked her up and started walking as fast as he could. "Not a problem." He ignored the shocked look on her face, but took note of the way she relaxed after a few steps. "I know exactly where to go. From what I have heard tell, there is only one person who could possibly fight that guy, and she has been taken to a cave on the far side of the forest."

Belle stared at him incredulously, "Lorelei?" He nodded. "Wil, how did you know any of that?"

Wil kept walking quickly, "It's amazing what people talk about when they think no one cares to listen. Likewise, it's amazing what you hear when you don't mind listening." He gave her a winning grin and they hurried through the forest towards a cave.

…..

Ruby and Henry had been rushing through the forest, following the line from Ruby. They further they went, the more pronounced that weird fuzzy feeling got in Henry. He couldn't figure out what it could be. Ruby asked plenty of questions but she couldn't really decipher it either. They were nearing the far edge of the woods when Henry suddenly started giggling. "Henry? What's so funny?"

Henry shrugged and kept walking, but the pattern wasn't such a straight shot anymore, he was sort of swaying around, almost dancing. "I have no idea, but I feel pretty happy."

Ruby raised her brows at him and grabbed him, making her stop and staring at him intently. "Holy shit Henry!" His pupils were huge and his eyes had a bloodshot look to them. "Henry… I think you're high."

Henry pulled away from her, still grinning, but frowning too, "whatever, Ruby. You're high. I'm not high, I haven't done anything."

Rolling her eyes, she turned him the direction they had been going, "follow the line Henry, find Lorelei."

Henry closed one eye and looked around. He pointed left, then swung right, then straight up before trying to turn backwards and falling over in a fit of giggles. Hanging her head, Ruby called Lorelei every name she could think of for getting high while kidnapped, and accidentally getting her own rescue party high at the same time. She sat and listened to Henry babble on about nonsense and throw himself into giggle fits, unable to do anything without him sobering up a bit. She looked off in the direction they had been heading, but there was little forest left, it ended at some rocky outcropping. She had seen it a few times during her wolf runs. She thought maybe Lorelei would be in the caves, but it would be rather inconvenient to sneak up on anything with a stoned teenager in tow.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The dark one was angrily pacing a deserted stretch of beach, just outside Storybrooke. How could this have happened? He had been so sure that collar would keep her contained. Of course, he hadn't planned on the filthy siren finding a true love either. He became enraged again at the thought of Belle with the siren. She belonged to him. He was her true love, she was carrying his child and she was his wife. He would have her again. Lorelei having her powers had changed his plans, but he would still have her. He couldn't go against her directly, of course. But, he could wait until Belle was alone and take her back to the underworld. It would only take a heartbeat…

…..

When Zelena had poofed them from the jail, they arrived at a cave with a few chairs and even a small table. Lorelei shrugged and sat down in a chair, kicking her feet up on the table and just relaxing a bit. Zelena watched her, thinking she might try to run off, but clearly she wasn't intent on escaping. "Do make yourself comfortable darling." Lorelei grinned at her and began digging in her pockets. She pulled out a cigarette pack and a lighter, casually lighting on and then leaning back and relaxing again. Zelena sat down in the other chair and tried to figure this strange creature out. "So, why is it, the great siren queen Lorelei is still trapped in that collar?"

Lorelei puffed a smoke ring before answering, "well, I cannot seem to get out of the damn thing." She sat up and looked at Zelena intently, "tell me, why is it the wicked witch of Oz has returned to Storybrooke instead of bouncing her baby around at home?"

Zelena smiled, "as I said, I need my mother. She has memories of mine, and I want them back, whatever they may be. Since you absorbed her somehow, I am hoping you can return my memories."

Lorelei chewed her lip a bit, "well, I think I can. I can feel something, but without my magic I'm afraid I'm quite useless."

Zelena went to the siren and sat on her lap, rather intrusively. "What have you tried?"

Lorelei stared at her, "I have tried everything you can possibly imagine."

Zelena rolled her eyes, "stop thinking with your sex drive for a moment please." She cocked a brow at Lorelei who simply shrugged. "I mean what have you tried to get the collar off?"

"Oh! Well, I tried pulling on it. I tried getting Ruby to pull on it." Mentioning Ruby had a sort of sobering effect on her and she pushed Zelena off her lap gently. Once she was standing, Lorelei continued, "believe me, we have pulled at it quite hard. Regina tried her magic on it and researched but came up empty handed as well."

Zelena returned to her seat. She had heard the siren was unusually committed to the werewolf, but apparently it wasn't a rumor. "Well, let me think for a while and I will try to come up with something."

Lorelei grinned widely and said, nonchalantly, "do you know what helps me think?" When Zelena eyed her suspiciously but didn't ask she continued, "relaxing a bit. It really helps…" Zelena watched as Lorelei opened her cigarette pack and pulled out a rolled something that was not a cigarette.

"Is that pot?"

Lorelei nodded, "you've heard of it?" Zelena watched as Lorelei lit it and took a long pull before handing it to her.

She took it cautiously, "I know what it is, but I've never tried it…"

Letting the smoke out Lorelei winked at her, "you'll love it. And, even better, it's green."

Zelena smiled wickedly and took a drag of her own, she coughed hard a few times but Lorelei coached her how to do it properly. Before long they were sitting in a smoke filled cave, passing this nonsense between each other and discussing an epic imaginary battle between dwarves and munchkins.

…

Ruby watched, unamused as Henry went from a little stoned to full blown fried, and maybe a little drunk too. Finally, she was done, obviously, Lorelei was planning to have an all day party. "Okay, we're done now." She picked up Henry and put him on her shoulder fireman style and headed in the direction they had been traveling before. Henry didn't protest really, he was just babbling and making groaning noises.

Ruby emerged from the woods and spotted a cave opening off to the side, so she headed straight for it. It couldn't be too dangerous if the siren was having half as much fun as Henry seemed to be having. She walked through the winding caves for about 15 minutes before she heard voices singing. One was perfectly on key and enchanting, the other must have been Zelena. Ruby rounded the corner, setting Henry down and making sure he didn't fall over as she stared at Lorelei and Zelena.

She could smell pot and bourbon and the two women had their shirts tied on their heads like crazy little hats. Fortunately for Henry's sake, they were both wearing bras. Henry got his balance back and immediately ran to the women, joining in with the singing and wobbly dancing.

Where is me shirt me noggin, noggin shirt

It's all gone for beer and tobacco

For the collar is worn and the sleeves they are all torn

And the tail is lookin for better weather

Henry was between the two women and they locked arms as they stumble/danced along to a tune apparently only they heard.

And it's all for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog

All for the beer and tobacco

Well I spent all me tin, on the lassies drinkin gin

Across the western ocean I must wander

Ruby stood and watched, chuckling at this idiocy before her. She just couldn't find it in her to interrupt such a thing. Unfortunately, Belle did not find it as humorous as she burst into the scene, Wil stopping to stare as Belle pushed Lorelei into a seat and ignored Zelena while feeling Henry's face and trying to shake him out of it. Wil looked sideways at Ruby, "how's it goin lil Red?"

Ruby just shrugged and gestured at the mess in the cave, "I have no idea actually, just got here." Wil nodded and then jumped as Regina shoved past them both.

"Henry!" She grabbed her son and started talking to him very quickly, unfortunately he was still heavily in the effects of Lorelei and her state of mind he giggled and put a hand over her mouth. She swatted his hand off and then stared him in the eyes before glaring at Ruby, "you let my son get drunk and high?!"

Ruby held her hands up in defense, "no! Absolutely not! Lorelei got drunk and high and the closer we got to her, the more he experienced it."

Regina rolled her eyes and released Henry to fall into a chair then grabbed Lorelei and began slapping her roughly until the siren started to defend her self, eventually freeing herself from Regina. "Enough smacking there, buzzkill Lucy!"

Regina looked her up and down then returned to Henry, shaking him gently. He seemed to come out of his stupor, looking around groggily. "Mom? What's going on…" He grabbed his head with both hands, "my head is pounding!"

Regina opened her mouth to speak but then they felt magic in the air, and it was not a good magic. Instead of joining them in the crowded cave, he transported the entire gathering to the beach he had been pacing. As soon as he located Regina's magic, he knew he'd been tricked. After all, why worry and run if the siren could protect them?

Everyone landed in a tangle on the beach, Regina desperately telling Henry what to do, but before anyone could move, Gold had them in cages, magic suppressing cuffs on Emma, Regina and Zelena. He must not sense Henry's untrained magic. Regina and Emma shared a cage with Snow and Charming, while Ruby had one with Henry and Wil. Belle and Lorelei remained sat on the sand.

"Oh shit, do you know what?" Lorelei called out loudly. Gold turned to her and gestured for her to continue. He obviously wasn't worried about her doing anything. "I completely forgot about you, Dimplepinkskin!"

Wil laughed loudly at that, but stopped quickly as Gold glared at him. He turned back to Lorelei who was smiling brightly, lounging on the sand. "Lorelei, how nice to see you again. It seems our heroes have been spreading lies about you, however, seeing as how that's all they were, is lies, I will take my possession and leave." He turned to Belle who seemed to be too scared to even speak.

Lorelei thought quickly, trying to do something. "What lies, exactly?"

Gold sighed, turning to her again, "I was told that Belle freed you from the pretty trap I have put you in."

"How?" She needed to buy a little time for her soggy mind to think of a plan. In hindsight, perhaps getting lit with the wicked witch at this particular time may not have been the best choice.

Grinning in amusement, Gold shook his head and gestured at Belle, "why, with true loves kiss of course."

Boom. Lorelei suddenly knew exactly what was going on here. "It didn't work." She shrugged sadly towards Belle. "But my god did we try kissing in every way we could think of."

Everyone on the beach stared, mouths open at the siren. Ruby was so incredibly confused at this point she couldn't even keep up anymore.

Rumple didn't seem to buy it, he just smirked at her. Until Belle, being incredibly clever herself, joined in. She blushed and scrunched her face up, "well, I didn't want to leave anything untried."

Rumple spun on her, obviously confused himself. "Belle, what are you saying?"

Belle found her courage again and stood. She went to the siren and once they were both standing, she pulled the siren into an intimate hug, made more intimate by the sirens hands both being placed on her backside. "True loves kiss didn't work, but I don't love her magic, I love her."

Lorelei gripped Belle firmly and even sighed deeply before saying, "I would live for all eternity without magic as long as I can spend one lifetime with her."

Rumple roared in a rage and magic flew form him, nearly toppling over the cages and knocking everyone down. Lorelei was quick enough to turn Belle away so the magic blast hit her full in the back and left Belle untouched. It cost her more than she thought it would, when the magic stopped pelting her back, she gasped and fell to the ground, Belle easing her down as best she could. "Lorelei, are you alright?"

The siren fell to the ground, her body trying to heal itself from the blast, but making her mostly unconscious for the effort. Belle tried shaking her, but Rumple was done with this journey. He grabbed her roughly by the arm and forced her to the waters edge where he then opened a portal leading directly to the castle in Tartarus. Belle screamed as she looked in to the pits of hell itself.

"Wait! What about me?"

Gold turned, ready to kill anyone who would dare interrupt him, but it had been Henry calling out. "Henry? What about you?"

Henry was bouncing up and down eagerly, "take me with you! I have magic and you can teach me better than anyone here! Please!"

Gold smiled, he could see Baelfire in Henry still. "You want to come with me? To the underworld? I can't bring you back."

Henry grinned, "I don't want to come back. If I stay in the underworld, I'll never age. It's not immortality, but it's pretty close. Not to mention how strong I can get with you teaching me and all the time in the world… well, the underworld."

All at once everyone started shouting at him. Ruby and Wil grabbed him as if to physically hold him from going, but Rumple waved his hand and Henry turned to shout at everyone, "it's too late! None of you wanted to help me with my magic, but he will." He stared down at Lorelei and even though she was barely awake he shouted at her, "even you wouldn't help me!" He reached for her, but Gold stopped him with magic.

"What're you doing?" Gold asked him suspiciously.

Henry turned angry eyes to his grandfather, "I'm taking her charm with me. She shouldn't feel whole when I can't". He held his breath as he waited for Gold to buy his anger and shouting. If he didn't believe him, Henry would be taken right along with Belle to the underworld. If he did believe him, he was grabbing that collar with his branded hand in the tiny hope that it would break…


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Gold narrowed his eyes at Henry, suspicious. Before he could make a decision however, Belle threw herself at him, clawing futilely. She knew Henry needed to touch Lorelei if there was going to be any hope for herself or him. Rumple held Belle back and restrained her, but he didn't let Henry move. He was about to simply throw them both into the portal and be done with all of this, but then something hit him from behind. He stumbled a few steps, having been caught off guard. Turning he found Zelena holding that damn fairy wand. He smirked at her, "really dearie? Do you think you can best me?" He frowned in confusion as he had thought he locked her in a cage and put a magic band on her. "How did you slither out of the band?"

Zelena gave him a wicked grin, "I've become rather skilled at getting out of those." She gathered all her force of magic and the wands and hit him with a blast far larger than the last one. He wasn't hurt, but he did have to focus on her, unfortunately for him, he let Henry go in his attempt to focus.

Henry had been pushing against the invisible restraint the entire time, so when it vanished, his hand slammed onto Lorelei, branded palm gripping the collar tightly.

No one expected the explosion. Hell, Lorelei was a bit stunned actually. In an instant, the collar was gone and her magic rushed back into her veins. The explosion toppled the cages and sent the people flying with them. Henry himself wasn't protected, he was thrown into Ruby and they both tumbled backwards.

Rumple had quicker reflexes than the rest and he grabbed Belle and launched towards the portal, but a mass of black tipped silver wings was in front of him before he took a step and he bounced off of them. Belle had wrapped her arms around the siren as a sort of grounding point.

With wide eyes, full of fear, Rumplestiltskin stared into silver eyes so bright, he thought he might be blinded. He opened his mouth to beg for his life, but was not given the chance. A hand was around his throat, squeezing the life from him. He was vaguely aware of another hand digging in his coat pockets and removing his dagger. When he hit the ground he took several deep gulping breaths. He held a hand to his throat but found a cool piece of metal instead.

"Neat trick, using my own magic to trap me. So neat, in fact, I did the same to you." Lorelei smiled at him before stepping aside and throwing him through the portal to land in the dirt, surrounded by a mass of golden winged sirens. "Treat him as well as he would treat any evil creature."

His screams pierced the beach air before Lorelei released the portal, closing it finally. She looked down at Belle, still clinging tightly around her middle. Belle had her eyes tightly closed and was trembling. With both hands on her shoulders, Lorelei pushed her back gently until she opened her eyes and looked up at her. "It's alright now woman, you're perfectly safe now. Safer than ever actually." Belle looked around, still unsteady, but Wil was beside her then and wrapped her in his arms, gently leading her back towards town while she cried freely, one hand on her stomach.

Lorelei looked around then and found everyone was moving, which was nice. Really, that blast could've killed a few of them.

She grabbed Zelena and forcefully drug her to where Regina was. "Now, this memory is a shared one, so hold on ladies." She grabbed both women and gave them the memories from their childhood that Cora had stolen from them. They remembered the sisterly bond they had formed, the love they had for each other and the violent removal Cora had given them. Lorelei smiled as she released them and they immediately started sobbing and hugging one another. She nodded and turned to find Wil and Belle had gotten out of the area quickly.

Before she could properly account for everyone, the space where the portal had been opened up again, but not to the underworld.

A massive swirl of nothingness opened up in front of the siren, pulling her in. She dug into the sand and began forcing it to close, but it was pulling too hard, she was slipping towards it. She started using her wings in an attempt to pull back form it, and strong arms were around her waist, trying to add to her strength to pull her back. It wasn't closing though. Lorelei was shaking with the amount of magic she was pouring at this black hole.

Behind her, she heard Ruby who must be the one pulling at her, "what is that?!"

Shouting to be heard over the noise of the vortex, Lorelei said, "no fucking clue, don't really want to go in it though." There was more pressure pulling at her and she took a quick glance to see Emma, Regina and Henry all pulling backwards with Ruby. Focusing on the hole again, she briefly realized the only reason they hadn't been pulled in was because of her outstretched wings. They must be shielding them from the pull. Unfortunately, she was getting weaker and holding them out was becoming difficult against the force of it. She pulled more magic, to the point where it even hurt a bit. She couldn't hold anymore without actually damaging herself. The void barely shrank at all, but it did just a little. "Emma, Regina, I need your magic, it's not closing!"

Together, and without letting go, both women threw as much as they could at the portal. Lorelei nodded with gritted teeth, "more, it's working!"

Henry saw his mothers and Lorelei struggling and decided they needed help. He let go of them and threw his untrained magic at the portal. He hadn't learned enough to take any kind of aim, and his magic blast hit Lorelei in her wing.

As she cried out in pain, she couldn't hold her wings anymore, they were already weak and that was it. Bodies flew past her and she grabbed an arm in either hand, neither being able to see who they belonged to or anything else as she pulled more magic than she ever should into herself and blasted the vortex with everything she could. The hole snapped shut and she fell into the sand breathing ragged and body burning in pain. The wings were gone now, her body trying to heal her, but it was sluggish.

The first thing she heard as her vision swam was Regina screaming Henry's name. The next thing she felt was Emma pulling her head up off the sand and shaking her a little, "Lorelei, hey come here Regina!" Regina swam into the sirens vision beside Emma, "she's fried Regina. Help me get her back to town, I don't have enough strength to poof us." And then Lorelei went completely out.

….

Emma laid the siren on the couch of the mansion, she looked like shit actually. Her eyes were a bit sunken and her runes flickered inconsistently. She was breathing shallowly and her whole body felt like she was running a fever of about 200. Regina had ran to the kitchen and grabbed a wet cloth to put on her face. It wasn't that Regina cared if the siren fried herself or not, but Henry and Ruby were gone into that black pit vortex and Lorelei might be able to find them.

Emma watched and eventually pulled Regina back and into her arms. The siren would recover eventually, nothing they did was likely to help. "It's okay, we'll find him, I swear it. As soon as she can function we both know she will be out to get them back too. We have to wait…" she trailed off as they both started sobbing against each other. He was gone again. Hopefully this time he had Ruby with him at the least.

Once they had pulled themselves together, they called Snow and David and told them what had happened. They called Granny who simply said "of course." Zelena poofed in long enough to quickly tell Regina she was going back to Oz long enough to gather Robin and their daughter and then would be back to help find Henry.

As Emma and Regina waited for the Charmings to get there, they watched Lorelei twitch in a fitful sleep. She had regained some color, but still looked haggard. The doorbell rang and the four heroes quickly started trying to make a plan to find Henry and Ruby as they glanced at the siren, waiting for her to wake up.


	43. Chapter 43

I want to thank everyone for the reviews! I am having fun with my little story! I hope you are enjoying it also.

Chapter 43

Three days. It had been three days since Henry and Ruby had been taken. The Charmings, Regina and Emma took turns keeping an eye on the siren who was looking better, but still out cold. Regina had been working on something magical for two days time, but she hadn't bothered to tell anyone what it was.

Emma was sitting beside the couch where Lorelei was, reading a book she couldn't have told you the name of. It was something to do, but really, she couldn't remember anything she had read so far. It was probably good that she hadn't been interested in the book because when Regina poofed into the room and shouted "EMMA!" she accidentally threw the book directly into the fireplace where it promptly began to burn.

"Jesus Regina! You scared the shit out of me!" Emma took a few deep breaths while Regina began explaining herself.

"I'm sorry, but I made a potion and I think I got it right finally!" Regina pulled Emma up off the floor and pushed a vial of fluid at her. "I can't take it myself because, well, if something happens I will need to make an antidote and so I think you should take it. I would get Snow to do it, but it needs inner magic to work so, well she can't" Regina shrugged as Emma stared at her incredulously.

"You want me to drink poison?!"

"What? No, of course not, it's a potion not a poison."

Emma raised her brows at her, "you said you might have to make an antidote. Antidote means this is poison."

Regina shook her head and waved her accusations off, "it's a potion, not poison. I just meant if there was an adverse reaction, I will need to fix the reaction."

Snow walked through the door, she was ready to take watch over the siren. "Mom, Regina is trying to poison me!"

Snow nodded casually while taking a book out of her purse and settling down in the chair to start her watch. "Well, it is a tradition for Regina to poison people in our family dear." She glanced at Emma and smiled, "I suppose it's your turn."

Emma frowned at her and turned back to Regina who was actually smiling for the first time in three days, "fine, kill me then. What's it supposed to do if it doesn't kill me?"

"It will make you able to see the other sirens!" Regina clapped her hands together with a self appreciative gloat about her.

Emma grabbed her hand and raced for her coat to get out the door, "why didn't you say so? They could be down there waiting to tell us where Henry is! There's no way they haven't gone looking for Ruby as soon as she vanished!"

Regina grabbed her coat and they raced out the door, headed for the ocean. The car was barely parked before Emma raced down to the shoreline, Regina close behind her. When they got there Emma turned to Regina, taking a deep breath, "okay. I just drink it and they pop up?" Regina nodded. "But, if they aren't here at this time, I will think it didn't work…"

"Then we will wait, as long as we need to. It works, I don't go around making accidental potions, idiot."

Emma grinned at her, "right, says the woman not taking it in case I need an antidote…" Before Regina could snark back at her, Emma downed the potion. She grimaced a little then shrugged, "it kind of tastes like black licorice." She put the bottle in her pocket and turned to stare at the sea. "I got nothin Regina… Maybe it worked and they aren't here?"

Regina rolled her eyes, "give it a few minutes dear, not all magic is instant." So they waited, Emma looking all around but nothing showed up. After about ten minutes Emma was fidgeting and getting impatient. "Regina, it's either not working or they're not here." She turned her back to the sea to stare at Regina. "I know magic isn't always instant but, it's been 45 minutes already."

Regina sighed, "Emma, it's been ten minutes and we don't have any other options. Waiting for the siren to wake up is taking too long, the potion is the only answer I could come up with. Try something else."

Emma tilted her head in confusion, "something else? I took the potion, what else would you like me to try?"

Regina squinted at her and then put her head back sighing heavily, "Emma… you did open yourself to magic yes? Because I specifically told you magic was required to make it work."

Emma blushed and shifted around uncomfortably, "I might have not done that…" She frowned and closed her eyes as she turned to the ocean again. She opened herself to the magic, letting it seep into her slowly. She opened her eyes and jumped back into Regina, "holy shit!"

"What?! Are they here can you see them?"

Emma nodded slowly as she took in the scene before her. There had to be at least a hundred golden sirens standing in the shallow waves, all of them had their arms crossed and one brow raised, staring at her in a very unimpressed manner. One of them stepped a bit closer and her mouth started opening and closing, assumedly she was speaking, but Emma couldn't hear a single sound. Emma held her hands up to stop the siren who seemed to be yelling at her, "hey, I can't hear you… actually, even if I could, I don't speak music so…"

The golden siren stared at her for a few moments then turned away and they all seemed to be arguing at one another. Regina looked entirely perplexed. Emma turned to her, "ok, so I can see them, but I can't hear them and even if I could they make music sounds remember? What am I supposed to do here?"

Regina shrugged, "I don't know Emma, find a way to ask about Henry."

Emma turned to the sirens silently arguing again, "Hey!" The same one from before stepped up again, hands on hips with her brows up as if to ask "what?" Emma spoke slowly and tried to calm her down a bit, "okay, look, I can't hear you, but I can see you, so… I don't know. Tell me what you can without speaking? Like charades or some shit." The siren looked angry and about to walk away, but Emma held her fingers up in the shape of a L and said, "ok, so if you mean to say Lorelei, do this…"

The siren looked at her as if considering and then seemed to think for a bit and rolled her shoulders, apparently ready to try this. At first Emma thought the siren meant to just stand there but then she began doing motions that she was actually understanding to an extent. It wasn't making sense so Emma told Regina they were trying charades and she began mimicking the siren so they could both try to decipher this nonsense. The siren held up the L shape and shrugged Emma answered, "she is still passed out. I think the magic backfired and hurt her when she closed the portal. She looks to be healing, but still out." The siren nodded, and thought for a few moments. She seemed to be struggling to find a way to express herself. She would make the L and then point to her heart and hand. Emma did the same for Regina to see and as the siren grew irritated, Emma got an idea, "are you saying Ruby and Henry?" The siren clapped her hands together and gestured to Emma as the others seemed to laugh at what she said. "Ok, I get it, L for Lorelei and her heart is Ruby, Henry has a brand on his hand, got it. Do you know where they are?" The siren held her hand up and made a strange face while she shook her hand.

Regina watched what Emma did, copying the siren. "Maybe?" Emma nodded when the siren nodded. "You maybe know where they are?" The siren seemed stressed as she attempted to convey but gave up trying after a few minutes and just shrugged and pointed towards to sea. "I think she sort of knows where they are, but she can't figure out how to tell us."

Emma tried a few times guessing, "are they in the underworld?" the siren shook her head no. "Okay, uhm… Neverland?" The siren again shook her head but she was intent and motioned for Emma to keep trying, maybe she was getting close? "Okay, how about the enchanted forest?" The siren sort of nodded and shook her head no at the same time.

"What are you doing? Are you being bitten by something?" Regina asked Emma as she tried to mimick the reaction. "Emma if that's what she is doing, she is on drugs."

The siren stared at Regina for a moment and then made a very lewd gesture that seemed to suggest Regina should do something else with her mouth towards her. "Hey, be nice. She's trying to help. Okay, so does that mean yes the enchanted forest but not quite?" The siren shrugged a bit and gestured wildly again, but it wasn't getting anymore clear. Then the siren obviously gave up and held up the L sign again in defeat. Emma nodded. "Okay, obviously we need Lorelei here. Can you tell us if Henry and Ruby are alright?"

The siren nodded and waved as if that was a stupid question. "Well, at least we have that much." Regina started back to the car, intent on waking the siren when she got home, but a little more relaxed knowing her son was alive… maybe in the enchanted forest?

Emma sighed, "okay, I will come back tomorrow and try again I guess. Thank you." The golden woman winked at her and grabbed herself very suggestively. Emma blushed and made a disgusted face, "yeah I'm not ever thanking you like that, but whatever." The sirens were obviously laughing as their leader shook her hand at Emma telling her no and then pointing at Regina and wagging her brows at her. "Oh fuck off, she hates you too." Emma then turned away as the sirens were falling over themselves laughing and making gestures at her. "Little pigs, just like their queen." Emma got back in the car and when Regina asked what happened she just shook her head and said, "nothing new. Let's go dump water on the queen hog and see if that helps."

Regina chuckled at her and felt herself become hopeful again for the first time in three days.

…..

Snow watched with a small smile as Emma and Regina left the mansion. It made her happy to see them so happy together. Even now, when they could wallow in depression, they pulled each other up again and again. It was beautiful true love at it's finest. After they left, Snow went back to her book and only glanced at the siren every ten minutes or so.

She glanced up after one set of ten and the siren was staring back at her so silently and with eyes impossibly wide it scared her half to death and she screamed as she inadvertently threw her book at the terrifying woman on the couch. The heavy book hit the siren right in the head and after a loud groan, Lorelei slumped and was unconscious again. "Oh no! Oh no!" Snow bounced on her toes and rushed to the sirens head where a small lump was already forming. Snow scrunched her face up, "great. You finally wake up and decide to immediately go super creepy mode on me. Now look at you! Out again… oh they're going to kill me…" Snow thought for a minute and then tilted her head and smiled. "Well… I suppose it's too bad you woke up and freaked out a little…" She then pulled the siren as gently as she could off the couch and onto the floor, trying to position her as naturally as she could. "Yep! It's a shame you woke up, flipped out and rolled off the couch, bumping your head on the floor or something I guess…" Snow shrugged, glanced around and found her book and sat down in the chair again and began humming a quiet tune, "terrible thing.. falling off a couch… tried to catch you…" She focused on her book again and waited for Regina and Emma to come home. The siren would wake soon and hopefully not recall exactly what happened…


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Emma and Regina drove back to the mansion, mulling over what the sirens seemed to say. It didn't make enough sense to form any kind of plan. If Henry is in the enchanted forest, Zelena could probably open a portal and they could simply go get him and Ruby. But the sirens seem to be saying it was sort of the enchanted forest. What could that even mean exactly? As they pulled into the driveway, Belle came walking up the sidewalk. She was wearing Ruby's red cape and carrying two stacks of books. When the car was parked, Emma jumped out to go help her carry the books.

"Belle, what is all this?" Regina asked as she went to open the door for them.

Belle was a bit out of breath and didn't answer until they were inside and she had set her stack of books down beside the stack Emma had carried. "Well, I found every book I had that even hint at portals. I understand books and words, it's the magic portion that I'm still a bit fuzzy about, so I brought them to you."

Regina glanced at several of the books, a few she owned herself, but there were a couple more that were new to her. "Thank you, these may be useful." Regina looked sideways at Belle, "and why are you wearing Ruby's wolf cape?"

Belle frowned in confusion before realizing what Regina was talking about, "oh! Well, when you do go to find her, she will probably need this. I was bringing it with the books but it was easier to wear it over here than carry it." She reached to undo the clasp but before she could there was a moaning noise coming from the other room.

All three women bolted into the room to find Snow crouched beside the siren who was on the floor, groaning. Snow stood quickly when they came in and gestured to Lorelei. "She woke up, but then she fell off the couch and was asleep again. Now she is making noises… I don't know." Snow put her hands up in defense of some invisible attack and sat back down in the chair.

Emma squinted at her mother. She was acting weird and if Emma had to guess, she was lying about something. Before she could question it though, Belle had gotten down on the floor and was leaning over the siren, apparently listening to something. "I think she is saying Ruby, but I can't quite hear…" Belle leaned over the siren who had rolled onto her back now and was leaning over far enough that the hood on the cloak fell over her head. Before she could sit up or take the hood off, Lorelei woke up.

In a burst of energy, Lorelei grabbed the back of Belles head and pulled her into a very demanding kiss. Belle, being caught off balance and very much shocked, seemed to be stuck against the siren, until a hand latched onto her breast which spurred Belle back to action. She rammed her elbow into the sirens stomach and caused Lorelei to release her in favor of holding her stomach. She coughed and groaned with her eyes screwed shut against the pain, "what the hell Ruby?!"

Belle stood, throwing the cloak off violently, "I am NOT Ruby, you idiot!"

Lorelei's eyes sprung open and then widened in shock, she made a high pitched squealing noise and then there was a flash of light as she disappeared from the floor. As everyone stood shocked there was a noise by the front door so they all raced to see Lorelei unconscious on the floor in front of the door. The front door had a large crack in it, obviously the siren had somehow rammed into it, knocking herself out again.

"Fantastic!" Regina threw her hands up as she stepped over the siren to examine the cracked door.

Snow sighed heavily and nudged the siren with her foot, "well at least it wasn't my fault this time…" She had mumbled it but Emma heard her.

Pointing an accusatory finger at her Emma said, "I heard that! What did you do?"

Snow blushed and grimaced, "ok, she woke up a little bit ago but scared me half to death and I might have accidentally knocked her out again with my book."

Emma rolled her eyes, "that's great. She finally wakes from a magic coma to get repeatedly knocked out again by my mother and Belle."

Belle was still bright red from the previous incident and spoke up indignantly, "I did not throw her into a door, she did it herself!" Belle stomped back to gather the cloak she had thrown off and was trying to neatly fold it but was really just angrily balling it up.

Regina had fixed her door and inspected it to make sure it was perfect again. She turned to frown at the siren, still sprawled on the floor. "Well, now that she is out of her coma, it shouldn't be hard to wake her again." She glanced around at the other three women, "Belle, try shaking her a little."

Belle snorted "no. In fact, hell no. You can burn me to a crisp right now, I am never getting near her while she is asleep again, thank you so very much." She folded her arms, still holding the balled up cloak.

Regina glanced at Snow who just crossed her arms and shook her head violently, lips pressed together tightly. Emma didn't wait to be asked and simply said, "Nope. There's not enough toothpaste in the world that could get that shit off if she kissed me."

Regina groaned and pulled a disgusted face, but slowly and paying close attention to the sirens face, she knelt down near Lorelei's foot. She waited a few seconds, then reached out and shook her leg quickly jumping back up and away. The siren didn't move. Swearing under her breath, Regina was about to make a second attempt when all at once Lorelei jumped to her feet, looking around wildly as if suddenly very panicked.

"Where is she?" She flashed and was in front of Emma, gripping the red leather jacket firmly in both hands, looking both furious and terrified. She shouted in Emma's face, "WHERE IS SHE? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER?" Emma attempted to get away from her but the siren was far stronger and slammed her against a wall as Regina attempted to use her magic to get Lorelei to let go.

"My magic isn't touching her!" Regina shouted as she and Snow started pulling at the siren, completely uselessly as the siren repeatedly slammed Emma against the wall. "Lorelei! Listen to me! Ruby got pulled into the portal on the beach, don't you remember?"

The siren let go of Emma who stumbled away to catch her breath as Lorelei turned on Regina. "Liar! I saw her, she was here! Look!" The siren pointed at Belle who was numbly standing there, holding the red cloak. "That's her cloak, she was just here!"

Silver sparks started dancing along the sirens skin as her anger boiled towards Regina who could only hold her hands up and back away. Regina frowned then, staring into the sirens eyes. They weren't clear, it was as if a thin film was covering them both. Something was wrong with her. Maybe the magic backfire, maybe multiple concussions. Regina glanced at Emma who was trying in vain to pull the siren away. "Emma, somethings wrong, she's not clear headed."

As Lorelei backed Regina against a wall and began reaching for her neck, Belle shouted at her, "Lorelei! Don't you dare touch her!"

All eyes went to Belle then, and the only one not confused beyond all reason was Lorelei who smiled, instantly her runes calmed down and the sparks stopped. She looked perfectly fine, anger gone. Her eyes were still cloudy as she beamed at Belle, "Ruby! I thought they took you away!"

Regina stared at the siren, trying to make sense of what was happening. Belle had put the cloak on again, hood pulled up, but it was very obviously Belle. She was short, the cape dragging the ground and of course the thick accent… something was very wrong with the siren.

Belle flinched and crossed her chest with her arms as Lorelei wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly. She attempted to kiss her again but Belle managed to cover her mouth with one hand and she mumbled as Lorelei looked hurt by this action, "uhm… you can't kiss me… at all."

Lorelei loosened her hold on Belle but put her hands on her cheeks and turned her head about as if checking her for sickness. "Are you sick? What's wrong?"

Belle was completely winging it at this point. Putting the cloak on and yelling at her was completely improvised and now she had no idea how to keep the siren off her. "Yes. Terribly sick." The siren squinted at her with those filmy eyes and looked skeptical so Belle quickly added, "It's uhm… a magical type sickness… And you could lose all your magic if you kiss me. You're very lucky you didn't get it last time."

Lorelei laughed and shook her head, "Ruby, for starters, I kissed Belle earlier not you, and second of all, I would happily throw my magic to the wolves in exchange for kissing you." She leaned in but again Belle covered her mouth. She had no idea what to say this time, but luckily, Regina had an idea.

"Wait! If you lose your magic, we won't be able to go find Henry and… Henry." Regina fumbled, but it seemed to get the sirens attention as she released poor Belle and faced Regina.

"Henry? Where is he?"

Emma jumped in this time, taking some pressure off Regina. "We're not sure. But, the sirens on the ocean know, you could find out, and we could go get him. But, if you kiss Be.." she cleared her throat to cover her slip, "scuse me, if you kiss Ruby you'll lose your magic and we will never get him back." Emma shrugged at the stupid reasoning she had just given.

Lorelei seemed to consider for a minute, searching blindly for Belle's hand. Once she got a firm grip and had laced their fingers together she kissed her knuckles, apparently didn't notice the grimace from Belle and smiled at Emma, "Okay. Let's go get Henry back then. I don't know how irresponsible of a parent you are Regina, but losing a child is not going to look good on your monthly mother report."

Regina cocked a brow at her, rolled her eyes and opened the front door, ushering everyone out before anything else went insanely wrong. "Yes, terrible parent. It's probably because I let him socialize with filthy urchins he picked up in the underworld."

Lorelei nodded, guiding Belle out of the house, still keeping a firm grip on her hand. As Belle passed Snow she gave her a look at desperation, silently begging for help. Snow shrugged and just followed them out.

Regina and Emma walked together behind Belle and Lorelei, watching how the siren was strolling and Belle was trying and failing to extricate her hand from the woman. Emma whispered to Regina, "what the actual fuck?"

Regina was frowning, deep in thought, "I don't know. But I do know, if 'Ruby' goes missing again, we're all in for a little siren wrath. Let's just hope Belle can hold on and Lorelei keeps buying it. Or, maybe she will snap out of it at some point." Regina kept frowning as they walked, chewing her lip, waiting for the bottom to fall out of this half cracked plan they seemed to be following.

They had made it half way through town, Belle had given up trying to get away she simply walked beside the siren, staring straight ahead. Unfortunately, since she was focused on ignoring the iron grip Lorelei had on her hand, she didn't notice Wil rushing up to her until it was too late. "Wil! No don't…!"

Wil grabbed her in a loving embrace before she could stop him. It only lasted a heart beat though as he was slammed into a brick wall with a silvery sword at his throat. Lorelei had her teeth bared, ready to skewer him. Wil had his hands up and his eyes were wide, afraid to breath that he might cut his own throat.

No one seemed to know what to do about this development however. "What exactly do you think you're doing?" Lorelei growled at him.

He opened his mouth to respond, gulping beforehand, "oh, I dunno mate. I just thought I'd get some fresh air and a new hole for my throat I spose." He shrugged but then squeaked a bit when the tip of her sword nicked his skin.

Suddenly there was a half crazed sounding laughter coming from Belle who looked rather close to hysterics, "Wil! Oh, wow you are so funny! I can't believe you mistook me for Belle!"

Wil tilted his head at her, clearly at a loss. "You say I what now?"

Lorelei frowned at her, "Ruby, no one could mistake you for Belle."

Wil raised his brows at the siren, "right. Who could ever do that?" The sword pressed against him again.

"It's the shoes!" Belle shouted, as she glanced around for any idea she could think of.

Lorelei looked at her shoes in confusion. "The shoes?"

Wil nodded slightly, trying to catch up on this psychotic game, "yeah, Belle has them shoes. Makes her look taller. Tall, like Ruby, in fact."

Lorelei eased off his throat a bit as she stared at the shoes, "those are Belle's shoes?"

Belle nodded excitedly, "oh yeah. I, Ruby," She emphasized the name for Wil, "borrowed them from her… so I could be… shorter?"

Wil tried to contain his giggles as he caught on, "yeah, my mistake. Belle was wearin them earlier. I wasn't payin attention just now. Was staring at the pavement, saw them shoes and threw my arms out all wild like, expectin to find Belle in my arms. And then.." he clapped his hands together with a huge grin and gestured at Lorelei, "and then I realized my mistake."

Lorelei got rid of the sword and was smiling again as she hugged Belle firmly, shaking her a little, "I don't know why you wanted to be shorter, I like you tall. Let's put your heels back on." Lorelei made a gesture as if to change the shoes.

Regina smelled disaster and shouted, "no! She has to keep those shoes on… She promised she would wear them… until we found Henry." Regina tried to smile but it looked more like she had just tasted something foul.

"Oh, okay then. Just another reason to find Henry. I would like to kiss my tall girlfriend again." She winked at Belle, took her hand again and they headed once more for the water.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief (except Belle who in fact groaned loudly at the hand hold again).

Wil was still a bit giddy from it all and fell in beside Snow to follow them all to the water. He seemed about to ask, but Snow just put up a hand and shook her head. This wasn't something she ever wanted to talk about.

Emma darted off after whispering to Regina that she was going to make sure no one else came near the siren. If she had to run interference to keep them all alive long enough to find Henry, then so be it. Regina pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a few deep breaths as she walked, watching the siren closely. At some point, she was going to snap and they would all get killed because Regina simply didn't have enough outrageous, ridiculous thoughts to feed to the half crazed siren.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

At some point during the walk to the shoreline, Charming joined them. He seemed like Emma must have told him what was happening here because he looked rather amused. They finally reached the beach and Belle was pulling back on Lorelei's hand. "No, I am not getting my shoes wet. You let me go right now."

Lorelei frowned at her, but let go. She was trying to look over the water and watch Belle at the same time. Apparently she was heavily worried about the woman disappearing again. Something must have gotten her interest peaked though because she turned fully to the ocean and was frowning slightly. Emma saw the confusion and whispered to Regina, "the sirens are talking to her… They look worried about her though. Like, they keep squinting at her and talking to each other." Emma was still watching them when the one talking to Lorelei gestured at her to come closer. Emma did, even though she really didn't want to. When she got there, Lorelei was just standing there, looking dazed and maybe day dreaming. Emma asked the golden siren what she wanted.

The siren made a pushing motion, and Emma figured she wanted her to push on Lorelei, so she did. The woman stumbled a little, stepping into the water a bit more. This, apparently made the sirens able to actually touch their leader. Two of them started pulling at her and picking her eyelids open. Lorelei simply stood there, unbothered by all of this. After seemingly talking it over, the first siren took a deep breath and shoved her hand magically into Lorelei's chest. Emma jumped back, "What the hell?"

Lorelei turned to face her then, eyes glowing a bright gold color. "Lorelei is wrong."

Emma frowned at her, "uh… what?"

Lorelei said, "she is gone. You have to find her."

Regina had joined Emma by now and seemed to understand, "their controlling her right now, probably something to do with her heart. We already knew something was wrong with her. Tell us how to find Ruby and Henry, I have a feeling that will fix Lorelei."

The siren spoke again in a weird accent, "they are in the enchanted forest, but not of this world."

"We don't know what that means." Emma said.

The golden siren shook her head, "I cannot explain. Get on the boat. We will carry you."

Emma and Regina exchanged glances, "ok… what boat?"

The siren talking thru Lorelei released her and motioned for Emma to pull her back so Emma turned her around and faced her towards Belle. Lorelei immediately snapped out of her daze and went to Belle, taking her hand again. All at once the siren rushed out to sea, vanishing under the water. "They just left!"

Regina frowned out at the ocean, "I think they are coming back…" She pointed and everyone could see something coming up from the ocean floor. It was a ship. The sirens were raising a ship from the ocean floor. It was disgusting and looked to be mostly rotted. "Why couldn't we take a good ship?!"

Lorelei heard her and responded in her normal voice again, "that's stupid. Everyone knows you have to take ships that have touched the depths of the ocean in order to cross timelines." She rolled her eyes as if this were actually common knowledge.

Instead of trying to argue this, everyone watched as the ghost ship came to rest at the dock, a moss covered board dropping from the side to allow them access. "Timelines. Emma, I think I know what's happening."

Belle couldn't contain her own knowledge anymore, "timelines! They are in a different timeline! That's amazing! Do you realize this means that not only could we be there, well, alternate us's anyway, but we could actually meet them!" Belle seemed pretty stoked at this prospect.

Lorelei raised a brow at her, "Ruby, do you realize that all of the what if's you have ever asked could be true, or some of them, or nearly none of them. In the time we are going to, one decision could have changed everyone and everything that you know."

Belle looked excited still and Lorelei didn't elaborate further before looking dazed again, staring at Belle. Regina took a deep breath and started for the ship. "Well, no matter what, we have to remember that we are only there for what we are there for. We can't fix or change anything."

Snow and David wanted to go, but baby Neal certainly couldn't, so they chose to stay. Belle raced past Emma dragging Lorelei with her, she was thoroughly excited and curious apparently. Wil seemed ready to board with them, but Lorelei looked ready to help him over board if he got on the ship so he too stayed on shore.

Regina nodded, "looks like it's going to be the four of us this time." Emma waved to her parents and Lorelei suddenly released Belles hand.

There was a golden siren dancing slowly on the deck, and apparently Lorelei was interested. Emma actually took a step towards her, but Regina was quicker and pulled her back. Emma blushed, "I think she is charming Lorelei, my bad." She kissed Regina and decided to glance at the sirens instead of stare.

As Lorelei got closer, the golden siren danced faster. All at once, Lorelei didn't seem able to stop herself. An elegant silver violin and matching bow appeared and she began to dance as she drew the bow over the strings. She knew the song this siren was dancing to. So she played it.

The golden siren smiled triumphantly and called to the other sirens surrounding the ship and all at once, they took off. Storybrooke was gone in an instant as Lorelei's magic flowed through her, guiding the ship under the watchful eye of the other sirens. As the music swelled and Lorelei began calling out in a chilling song, Belle and Emma became enthralled by her, rushing to her, but Regina had the foresight to magically stopper her hearing. The two met the end of ropes holding them to the ship and away from Lorelei.

The golden siren continued to dance to the eerie song, Lorelei playing loudly and the ship rocketing through the water and fog, and time itself. The song played on as the sirens danced with each other, Lorelei singing out and causing Belle and Emma to pull at their restraints harder.

Regina gave herself ropes, if the siren song broke through her stopped ears, they would all be in trouble.

The song I had in mind here is Moon Trance, by Lindsey Stirling.


	46. Chapter 46

As I was about to post this chapter, I realized it may not be clear. Ruby and Henry woke up immediately, everyone else is about 4 days later. So, Ruby and Henry perspective is from four days ago. As the others perspective is current, or four days after portal.

Chapter 46

Ruby opened her eyes and was staring up through trees. It was a nice day, the sun was shining, and she could hear birds singing. She stared at the trees, confused, until the memories rushed back to her and she sat up quickly looking around in a panic. Henry was laying on the ground just a few feet away and she rushed to him, waking him and helping him sit up.

"Ruby? What happened?"

"We got sucked through some kind of portal."

"Oh yeah…" Henry rubbed his head and eventually stood up. They looked around, but found nothing but forest and a couple squirrels. "So, where do you think we are?"

Ruby frowned at everything, "my sense of smell says enchanted forest, but my mind says something is wrong with the scent."

"You know what the enchanted forest smells like?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "do you know what your bedroom smells like? Do you know you're in a bakery by the smells? It's the same thing, just more… more, I guess."

Henry nodded, that made sense. "Okay, so really no big deal then. My moms will find a way to come get us. Last I heard the only thing left here was like Ogres I think. So, we avoid them and we're good." He shrugged and started to wander a bit.

Ruby grabbed his sleeve and shook her head, "no, Henry something is wrong here. It's the enchanted forest, but something isn't right. We need to be careful." She had just stopped talking when they heard footsteps approaching them. Ruby looked around, but there was no where to go. So she put Henry behind her and prepared for whatever came through the trees. Her mouth fell open however when a woman emerged and smiled brightly at her.

"Red! I wasn't expecting you back until the end of the week at least! How did you get back so fast?"

Ruby might have answered, but before she could the woman had grabbed her by the face and forced her into a kiss. Recovering from the shock she pushed the woman away and made Henry back up a bit. "What the hell was that?!"

The woman frowned at her, looking hurt and a little angry, "what was that? I was trying to kiss my wife…" The woman squinted at her, finally taking in the strange clothes and the panic on her face. "What's wrong with you?"

Ruby was staring, open mouthed again. "I'm… I'm not your wife. I… what's wrong with you?! How did you even get here? I am so fucking confused!"

Apparently, the woman came to her own conclusion as she drew a sword and looked very ready to use it on Ruby. "I don't know what the queen is playing at, but I'll kill you if you don't start explaining."

"The queen? Who's the queen?" Henry asked from around Ruby.

The woman looked at him like he had three heads, "I don't know who you are but you must be blind deaf and dead not to know who the evil queen is!"

Henry gasped and then started to panic along with Ruby. "Stop, please. Don't try to kill anybody. We fell through a portal, I have no idea where we are or what's going on."

The woman only became angrier, "magic happens, I get that, but if you just fell through a portal, why do you look like Red?"

Ruby fumbled and came up empty so she just asked back at her, "I am Red, well actually I go by Ruby mostly. But I can seriously promise you, you're not my wife. Where I come from you're just a really good friend."

The woman didn't seem convinced. "why is she even after me? I gave her what she wanted a long time ago! She swore to leave me alone!"

Ruby became more concerned than confused now, "she didn't send me. What did you give her?"

The woman looked pained and angry, "everyone knows what I gave her…"

"Please tell us?" Henry asked, joining in to the concerned feeling.

After studying them for a few moments, the woman lowered her sword, "I don't understand, but I believe you're not from the queen. And you must really be from another world, because no one would ask me that." She looked defeated and sighed before answering, in a near whisper, "I gave her my only child, my daughter. She stopped the war, and the killing. She didn't cast some curse that would have torn us all apart. She has taken care of her, like she said she would. I saved thousands of lives, by giving her my child. And my wife, Red, is the only one who didn't condemn me for it."

Ruby gasped as a few tears fell, "oh my god, Snow, you gave Emma to the evil queen…"

Snow White nodded, "you know my childs name… but you are not from here. I will take you to my home. We can talk more there."

Henry just stared, numb. Ruby took his hand and they followed this shadow of a person they knew…

…

As the sirens song ended, the ship bumped against a rickety dock and stood still. The golden siren smiled brightly at Lorelei and she gently turned Lorelei back towards Belle who was shaking off the enchantment. Lorelei got rid of the violin and rushed to free Belle from her ropes. "Ruby! Why didn't you dance with me? You always dance with me when I play."

Belle was still a bit dazed from the sirens song so she just shrugged and said, "I didn't want to mess up the song?"

Lorelei laughed and took her hand, leading her off the boat, "you have never been an interruption to me. How could you interrupt anything I do, when everything I do is for you?"

Emma raised her brows at Regina, "is this what she's like when it's just her and Ruby? Because if she is actually this sweet, it makes more sense Rubys all in love with her."

Regina shrugged, following everyone off the ship, "I have no idea. I had assumed they spent their time drinking and banging."

Emma laughed at that and was going to add to it, but they had all stopped to stare at what was before them. "Holy shit."

Belle was the first to form intelligent words, "uhm… I'm pretty familiar with the layout of the enchanted forest, at least how it used to be. I think we landed on the north shore, based on the mountains… but there was never a castle here…"

Regina cleared her throat, "well, you're right. I hadn't built it yet. I had the plans made up, but cast the curse instead." All eyes turned to her. "That is the castle, exactly as I imagined it, that I was going to build after I won the war against Snow White's forces."

Emma stared at her, "Regina, are you saying you think in this world that the evil queen beat Snow… and, I would assume did not cast the curse?"

Regina nodded, "I didn't build it because I cast the curse. No curse would have left me to building it, if Snow White wasn't taking my attentions."

Belle felt a chill at the thought that they were in a land where Snow White lost, and the evil queen still reigned. She actually shifted closer to Lorelei seeking protection unconsciously. Lorelei smiled at her, "don't be worried my Ruby, I will always protect you. Remember? My life before yours."

Belle looked at her curiously. "You tell her that…" she said without thinking.

Lorelei cocked a brow at her, "I tell you that… are you feeling alright?"

Belle shook her head, remembering the incredibly uncomfortable part she was playing, "yeah, ah… sea sickness. Makes me weird…". Lorelei bought it because she smiled and started into the forest.

Regina caught up and asked her, "do you know where we're going?"

Lorelei nodded, "I can feel Henry, and something else. I don't know, but it's with Henry. He is in that castle right there." She pointed at the evil queens castle and Regina shuddered. Obviously she was feeling Ruby, but couldn't understand because she had Ruby in her hand. Henry was in the evil queens castle. This was not going to end well.

Emma took Reginas hand, following the siren through the woods. "What would the evil queen have done to a teenage boy?"

Regina shrugged, "I have no idea Emma. I can't even imagine this place, this timeline. I'm worried though…" She squeezed Emma's hand and they walked on.

…..


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Ruby and Henry followed Snow through the woods, both lost in their own thoughts. They all walked in silence for nearly an hour before the woods gave way to a small cottage with a clearing around it. Ruby hadn't seen this place before, but she knew where this clearing was. In fact, her and Snow had camped here often enough when hiding from the queen. "We camped here a lot actually…"

Snow looked at her with a small smile, "yeah, that's why we built our own home here. It has a lot of memories for us both. It's also only a days walk to see Granny."

Ruby nodded, "good memories, yes, but Granny lives a week from here… well, she used to… this is all very confusing!"

Henry snorted and under his breath said, "confusing, gross, weird, stupid…" He continued but Ruby ignored him, after realizing he was just complaining.

Snow took them inside and once everyone was settled onto the small stools inside, she took a deep breath, "ok, so obviously a lot of things are different for you here. Should we start putting the pieces together?"

Ruby shrugged, "I guess so. Firstly, let's clear up this married thing. My name from now on is Ruby, you are married to Red." Snow nodded, an amused smile on her face. "Okay, so even though it's not the most important thing right now how…".

Henry interrupted, "how did you and Red end up together? What happened to David?" He saw Ruby nod slightly, he had decided not to call him grandpa, that would be a different story.

Snow smiled sadly, "well, Red was always there for me, and when I gave Emma to the evil queen… David wasn't very pleased with it. He tried to stop me, but that would have meant the curse and more death. So I went against him and he never did forgive me. He waged war against her, and he lost. His death didn't surprise me, if you go against the dark one, you're going to lose…"

Ruby nearly jumped out of her skin "Rumplestiltskin fought on Regina's side?"

Snow frowned at her, "Rumplestiltskin was dead, shortly before I gave Emma to the queen. She killed him when I agreed to give her my child."

Henry was nearly hyperventilating, "she's the dark one? She killed him, and became the dark one and the evil queen?"

Snow nodded, "what happened in your time?"

Ruby shook her head, not able to imagine how bad of a place they were in right now. "uh, well, Regina cast the curse. It took us all to a land without magic. You put Emma in a magic tree and sent her to the same world. The curse kept us in a stasis for 28 years, then grown Emma came and broke the curse…" Ruby looked at Snow again. "You haven't aged. Did we go back in time too?"

Snow shook her head, trying to process all of this fast. "Regina cast a curse, but not the dark curse. We are trapped in time. We don't age, we just sort of… I don't know, exist? People can die, but not from old age. Regina did this to keep her kingdom intact and to… prolong my suffering. Emma grew though, but she isn't going to be breaking any curses."

"Why not?" Henry asked.

"Because the queen has groomed her since birth to be her best captain. She is the greatest warrior the lands have ever known, and fiercely loyal to the queen. Emma would die a thousand times for her." Snow looked like a mix of proud and sad at the same time.

Rubbing her temples, Ruby pressed on, "okay. Hang on. So Regina is the evil queen dark one, and Emma is her black knight in deathly armor?" Snow nodded.

"We're so fucked right now." Henry didn't even look sorry for the swearing and Ruby couldn't find it in her to scold him.

Snow waved her hands, trying to ease the panic, "oh no, it's not that bad. I mean if you commit crimes you die, but people can come and go as they please, except me. I have to stay. People will leave and have babies and come back and the children grow and then stop at about 25. It's kind of like immortality. And the people are fed and taken care of, the kingdom is prospering. I used to want out, but Red held me together, she stayed with me. And, well…" Snow blushed as she let the statement trail off.

"You don't understand, they are going to come for us, and when they do…" Henry couldn't finish it.

Ruby sighed, "Ok, Snow… hold on to your seat because I got some news for you." As Ruby told Snow of their world, the woman got more pale by the second. She was married to David, Emma was their daughter, she forgave them, that's nice. Henry is her grandson, Rumple is his grandpa. Regina is his adopted mom, engaged to Emma. She briefly touched on other things like Zelena, which was confusing. She mentioned how Cora died…

"Cora's dead? I killed her?" Snow said in a loud whisper.

Ruby frowned… "Is Cora still alive here?"

Snow nodded, "of course, she stays with the queen and gives her guidance."

Ruby growled a bit. "I bet she does." A thought hit her and she stood, panicking. "Cora's alive, and Lorelei is coming to save me. Regina is the evil queen dark one and Emma is coming to save us. Emma is a super human warrior nutcase, and Regina is coming for us. Oh my god we are so fucked."

Henry groaned, "Regina will want to save Emma, Emma will try to save Regina, Lorelei will try to save Cora because she thinks she owes her…"

Snow interrupted, "why would they do anything? Won't they just find you and take you away? Why would anyone try to save anybody else?"

Ruby stared at her, "oh Snow, you are very different. It's what we do. We save people."

Henry nodded, "yep, we're heroes. It's what we do."

Snow looked skeptical but relented. They continued trading stories back and forth until it was late. Snow gave Henry a couple blankets to sleep on the floor and told Ruby she could share the bed. Ruby nearly did until Henry reminded her of a certain siren who would not bother knocking if she came along. Ruby declined the bed and instead slept next to Henry on the floor. Better to have a sore back than a dead Snow if Lorelei turned up tonight.

….

 _Ruby ran down the hall, Lorelei was in their room and she hadn't seen her in nearly an hour. She could be causing trouble, or sleeping. Throwing open the bedroom door, Ruby stopped and smiled instead. Lorelei was tuning the little piano that they had dusted off and moved into their room the other day. So far, the siren hadn't been able to make it sound just right. It was fine as far as Ruby could tell, but Ruby wasn't a magical music making siren. Not wanting to interrupt, Ruby sat on the bed and watched quietly._

 _Lorelei made a few adjustments, hitting a few keys, and then closed the lid and sat down on the piano bench. She glanced at Ruby and frowned, "why are you over there?"_

 _Ruby shrugged, "I didn't want to interrupt you."_

 _Lorelei laughed and waved for her to come over. "That makes no sense, woman. The only reason I am doing this is for you. Now, how could you interrupt me, when what I do is because of you?" Ruby sat down next to her and stared at the keys. "Do you know how to play this?"_

 _Ruby shook her head, "I don't really know how to play anything. But I would love to hear you play something."_

 _Lorelei thought for a moment and then began gently playing the keys on the old piano. Ruby was no expert, but whatever Lorelei had done, it had made this piano sound better than anything she had ever heard. If it weren't for that collar, Ruby would accuse her of magic. As the siren played, the music flowed over Ruby and she leaned to the side to put her head on Lorelei's shoulder. The song was beautiful. Ruby decided this was absolutely her favorite song. When it picked up and went down again, she could feel it in her heart, as if it really were magic._

 _When the song ended, she looked at Lorelei with the best puppy dog eyes she could find and begged, "one more time? Please do it again?"_

 _Lorelei smiled at her and kissed her forehead then started the song again, "I'll never stop, I would play for a thousand years for you."_

… _.._

Ruby woke with a sigh, she had dreamed about the first time Lorelei played the piano for her. It made tears in her eyes. She missed her stupid, arrogant, foul mouthed siren. But she missed the sweet, gentle Lorelei too.

Henry groaned to a state of awake. "Are we still lost in bat shit crazy forest?"

Ruby chuckled at him, "yeah, I'm afraid so. But, your mothers will rescue us soon, and you better remember to clean up your mouth before they get here."

He groaned again, sitting up, his hair in every direction. "Yeah well, I learned it from them."

Ruby stood, stretching her muscles, "Emma maybe…"

They shared a laugh as Snow came in the front door. "Oh, you're awake, I thought maybe in your world you all just sleep through the whole day."

Ruby smiled, "well, not usually. I'm sorry, you could have woken us up."

Snow smiled, "I'm just kidding. I was just out getting some breakfast actually." She held up two dead squirrels and a basket of random vegetables.

Ruby was very hungry suddenly, it had been a long time since she had eaten Snow's squirrel salad nonsense. "Did you get those little red peppers?"

Snow smiled a big smile then, "I thought you might like those, my wife won't eat anything without them."

Henry pulled a face, "how about a doughnut? Cereal?" Ruby laughed and Snow looked confused. "I didn't think so. I can't wait to go home."

Ruby shoved him playfully. "You'll like it."

They all went outside, around a brick oven with a fire already lit to heat the pans on top. As Snow started cooking, Ruby sat on a long made bench with Henry. Ruby heard horse hooves approaching and stood, telling Snow someone was coming.

Snow didn't look concerned though. "It's fine, it's just…" She spun around suddenly looking worried. "Oh no, you look like Red! I don't really want to try and explain everything to Belle today."

Henry jumped up, "we will go hide for a while, maybe find something that is good to eat!" Ruby slapped him playfully.

"Okay, she should leave by sundown, can you manage until then?" Snow looked concerned so Ruby eased her.

"Snow, I may not be the Red you know, but I'm still me." She smiled and grabbed Henry's hand as they raced into the forest. They ran for a little while, but once they felt far enough away, they just sort of wandered through the woods.

They came across a small village, it seemed quiet enough that they snuck around and eventually found a bunch of clothing, apparently left out to dry. They changed into what seemed to be normal clothes.

They could walk around the village now, since they fit in better. Of course neither of them took the whole Red look a like thing in to account.

"What are you doing here?" A large man in an apron asked Ruby.

She stopped and looked around, "I'm sorry, are you talking to me?"

The man crossed his arms on his chest, "You're not welcome here. We tolerate you and that whore of yours living out in the woods, but how dare you come here?"

Ruby was going to apologize, she had forgotten the duplicate thing, but even if Snow wasn't her wife, she was her friend. "I will go wherever I damn well please. I really don't think you can stop me." She stood toe to toe with the man, he must know she's a werewolf.

The man laughed and Ruby stared at him in confusion. Behind her there was a crack sound and something hit the ground, turning quickly Ruby found a man on the ground next to a metal shackle and Henry holding a large piece of wood. Henry looked panicked. "He was going to put that on you!"

Ruby grabbed his hand and he dropped the wood as they ran for the forest, followed by shouts and cries from the villagers. "I think we fucked up again Henry!"

Henry was out of breath but managed to laugh, "yeah, I think maybe we did."

They ran as fast as they could back to the cottage in the clearing. They burst through the trees to find Snow and Belle sitting and having a cup of tea. Snow jumped up and ran to them, hands all over Ruby, inspecting for injury in a rather familiar way. Ruby managed to get her to stop when she told her, "not allowed in the village am I?"

Belle had been watching in confusion but she spoke up then, "the village? Red what is wrong with you? They'll have both your heads!"

Henry had sat on the ground, not being as good at running for his life as Ruby was. "Yeah, that's what they said."

Snow stopped fussing with Ruby, remembering this was not Red. "I'm sorry, I didn't think to tell you… I can stop them. I will explain that you were trying to help this boy find his family. I can talk sense in to them."

Ruby looked at her skeptically, "ah, Snow. The didn't really think too much of you from what I heard…"

Belle rolled her eyes, "yes they are rather limited in thought, but they also think the queen would have their heads in turn for harming Snow. She can't be tortured with eternal youth if they kill her after all." She squinted at Ruby, "you're not Red, are you?"

Ruby smiled in spite of the situation, "well, Belle still has her brains, that's nice."

Snow made herself ready and raced off to intercept the villagers, she insisted no one go with her to make things worse. So, Belle Henry and Ruby sat together and waited. Belle, ever curious, couldn't wait long before asking about them. Ruby gave her as much information as she could remember giving Snow. It didn't take as long however because Belle just listened instead of adding her own life. Once Ruby finished Belle just nodded and said, "well. I for one am quite pleased with this life then. I certainly wouldn't have let Rumple get another chance. A baby would be nice though."

Ruby waited, but Belle seemed done. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you after the curse wasn't cast?"

Belle shrugged, "not much really. The evil queen released me since I was no longer of value without Rumple around. I traveled a bit, read a lot of books. Nothing too exciting really. When I came back here and found Snow and Red were to be married, I decided to settle down a bit."

Henry and Ruby exchanged looks, they had to know, "are you seeing anybody? You don't have to say, but it's been a bit interesting seeing how things played out you know…"

Belle smiled, "Well, after the queen released me, I wasn't really feeling like becoming a house wife so I didn't really go looking for love. There was a man I met once, not long ago, but then he vanished." She had a sort of faraway look about her.

"Was his name Wil Scarlett?" Henry asked.

Belle squinted at him, "how did you know that? I've never told anyone his name!"

Henry smiled and said, "you know, it's strange but, I think he'll find you again."

They continued the small talk until Snow came back, looking rather frazzled. She wasn't hurt, but certainly looked tired enough. "Well, I talked them down. Let's just hope Red doesn't accidentally wander too close to that village on her way home." She sat down heavily and Belle handed her a cup of tea. "I take it you all got caught up?"

Belle nodded, "yes. I am a little sore you sent her away instead of explaining though."

Snow sighed, "well, it's been a bit stressful trying to catch up."

They talked until nearly sunset when Belle said her good byes and they had dinner. Henry and Ruby were on the floor again, settling in for sleep before long.

They hadn't been asleep an hour before the door was kicked down and several men rushed in. Henry and Ruby fought as a man held Snow back. Ruby managed to down two of them before a heavy shackle clicked onto her leg. As soon as it closed, she collapsed. It was as if all her strength had been shut off. She heard Henry yelling and Snow shouting before she blacked out entirely.

….


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Snow watched helplessly as Ruby and Henry were drug from her home. When the royal guards finally released her, she tried to go after them but one guard held her back until all the other had mounted their horses and started off with their prisoners. "Snow, listen to me. You can't help them, they are the queen's prisoners now."

Snow looked at the man, recognizing him immediately. "Graham! Please, there has been a mistake! That's not Red, not my Red. It's confusing but you must believe me."

The huntsman shook his head, "I know she isn't Red. Don't worry about the mix up. The queen knows all about the strangers. Your Red is being found and told to make haste back to you now. Their won't be any more problems for you if you two behave and stay where you belong. But if you try to interfere, you know the queen will find a way to make you sorry." He grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes and making her focus. "You know that trying to help a couple strangers will only bring you misery. Please, do not make me come back for your Red… We have plenty of wolfsbane shackles." He nodded to her and made his way to his horse.

Snow couldn't do anything except collapse and cry, waiting for her wife to make this feel better.

….

The evil queen smirked as she watched the huntsman soothe Snow White. He always had a soft spot for her. She let him have it, it seemed to make Snow stay down in the hole the queen put her in quite nicely. She watched Snow cry for a few moments before waving a hand to look at her prisoners. Her spy had been right, the woman was identical to the wolf pup. The boy had made some mighty claims of being her and Emma's son, that alone warranted her taking them for questioning.

She shivered as she let the image go. The thought of being intimate with Emma was unsettling at best. She had personally raised that child from birth to the grown woman she is now. Of course, she wasn't exactly motherly, she had groomed Emma to be her fiercest knight, but still. She was like a child to her. She wanted to know more about this other world. From what she heard, there was someone who could dwarf her power, and that simply wouldn't do. She would simply get the whole story from these strangers, and find a way to use that power.

She glanced at the candle and realized she was late for a meeting with her mother. She stood and smiled brightly as she made her way through her castle, Emma falling in behind her as she left her chambers. She glanced at the blonde and grimaced again. What a horrible thing, her and Emma. Besides, Emma didn't do intimacy. She was a weapon and weapons had no time for pleasure.

….

Lorelei had been walking straight for the castle for several hours, but now she seemed to be wandering a little bit, almost distractedly. Belle tugged her hand a little and after a few moments, Lorelei's gaze shifted to her, almost lazily. Belle frowned and stopped walking, so Lorelei did too. She gestured for Regina and Emma to come closer. She pointed at the siren, "I think it's getting worse, whatever it is."

Regina looked closely at the sirens eyes, they were cloudier. Emma pointed at her arms were the runes were flickering unsteadily. Regina sighed, "maybe she's tired?"

Belle turned Lorelei's head to look at her again, "Lorelei, do you think we should make camp? It is getting dark."

Lorelei nodded and waved her hand over the area. Belle jumped as two tents and a campfire sprang up amidst silver sparks. She smiled at Belle again. "If you're tired, we can go to sleep." She pulled Belle in close to her and ignored the protesting from her. She got very close to Belle's ear, which was impressive as Belle was trying to get further away. She whispered, loud enough for the forest to hear, "and if you're not tired, I know how to exhaust you."

Belle pulled away quickly and yawned dramatically, "ah, yeah, pretty tired. You should definitely leave me alone to sleep."

Regina busied herself with magicking up some dinner for them all while Emma failed to contain her giggles, "you can't do that Lorelei, remember? The magic stealing sickness?"

Lorelei smiled that overly perverted grin and said, "I know a lot of things to tire a woman out that do not involve kissing, Emma."

Belle looked like she might get sick, "no. I'm very tired, and besides we can't do… that… any of that, with Emma and Regina so close by."

Lorelei chuckled and grabbed her hand again, "it's ok if you're tired, but don't try to pretend we haven't done anything with them close by."

Regina dropped the pan she had been holding, "excuse me?"

Lorelei waved her off and loud whispered to Belle, "remember in the garage at the mansion? Or the office at the sheriffs station?" Belle was giggling watching Emma and Regina reacting to this disgusting information, she promptly quit laughing when Lorelei continued, "Or, when Belle was so focused on her book, and you were so quiet, she didn't notice us just two aisles away at the library?"

Belle tried to smack her but missed as Lorelei caught her up in a fierce hug and ushered her to sit beside the fire. She sat there and ground her teeth together as she waited for Regina to violently serve everyone dinner.

Emma broke the silence after they ate. "Okay, new rule. Until she is better, no mentioning sex around Lorelei. Specifically when or where they've done shit." Everyone nodded, except the siren who was staring off into the woods, blank smile on her face.

Belle took a deep breath and stood, gesturing towards one tent. "I don't suppose I can convince you to let me sleep in a separate tent?" Lorelei snapped out of her daze and looked panicked again. Belle held her hands up, "ok, ok. I just thought the no sex or kissing might be hard for you if we slept together, but whatever. Just keep your hands and anything else you might have, to yourself."

Lorelei smiled and ducked into the tent. Belle stomped her feet and threw a silent fit before taking a deep breath and ducking in also.

She jumped back out as soon as the flap closed behind her however, beet red and mad. "What's wrong?" Emma asked.

Belle was shaking mad and pointed at the tent, "she's naked."

Emma and Regina both started laughing hysterically. Belle was not amused. From inside the tent Lorelei called out, "Ruby, you know I can't sleep with clothes on. Come on, lay down, I promise not to let you have at me."

Belle looked thoroughly insulted and was about to get them all killed but Regina interrupted, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's one night. Just wrap up tight and you'll be fine."

Emma sobered up a bit and magicked a flashlight for Belle. Looking at it with disgust, Belle shouted, "why would I want to see that better?!"

Emma smiled, "well, in case her runes go dim. You'll need light to read them all."

Belle stared and Regina poofed up a pen and notepad and handed it to her. Belle smiled what can only be called a wicked grin and chuckled darkly before storming back in to the tent. Emma and Regina went to their own tent, giggling for nearly an hour at the noises from the tent next door.

"What're you doing?" Lorelei asked.

"Ah… checking for ticks." Belle responded, sounding distracted. She must already be taking notes.

Lorelei giggled loudly, "if you're going to tickle use your nails." There was a smacking noise and Lorelei yelping then giggling again, "was that bad? If I do it again will you do it again?"

Eventually Belle must have finished, but it was long after the other two women went to sleep.

…..

The evil queen turned the mirror off. She wasn't entirely sure what she had just seen. But she knew she would have company tomorrow. However, she wasn't quite ready. That siren was far more powerful than she was. There was no option to defeat her physically or with magic. So, the evil queen had a few more tricks up her sleeve…

Smiling wickedly she opened her mirror again, finding a young woman rushing through the woods. She poofed to stand in front of her and the woman stopped so suddenly she nearly fell over. Once she got a good view of the queen herself standing before her, she dropped to the ground and waited to be killed or worse.

With a wave of her hand, the woman stood her eyes were purple with the magic flowing through her body. A sword appeared at her hip and she turned off her original course of travel. As the woman started off towards a tidy little campsite, the queen poofed away, back to her castle. She decided to share in the fun this time however, just for that extra taste of evil.

The woman from the dungeon appeared in her study, kneeling on the rug and safely bound with the wolfsbane shackle.

Ruby looked up at her, feeling weaker than she has ever been in her life. "What do you want? You made me tell you everything about her."

The evil queen bit her lip, nearly admiring this woman for her bold mouth. Her look a like had hit the ground in a heart beat, but not this one. She thought she was a big bad wolf, not some silly pup. "Why, my dear, I wanted you to see your true love!"

Ruby stared at the evil queen with obvious skepticism. "You are going to let me see her?"

"Yes! In fact, she is going to see you too. Now, don't be too hurt if she thinks the other you is actually you. Poor thing is apparently terribly ill. At least that's what I have gathered from my little magic mirror." The evil queen held up the mirror and it turned into Red jogging through the woods with a sword on her hip. Her eyes swirled with purple magic.

Ruby stared, wide eyed at the image. "What are you doing to her? You're going to try to make her kill Lorelei?" Ruby was laughing then, "You obviously need to wash that mirror because you're not getting the whole image. She's immortal, dumbass. You made me tell you this, what are you doing?"

Laughing loudly at this arrogant woman, the evil queen leaned in close, "oh her body can't die, her magic can't be stopped, but…" She got close to Ruby's ear licking her lips before continuing, "her spirit however, that weakened mind of hers… well… that is another matter."

Ruby struggled in her shackle, "you can't break her, I don't care how sick she is!"

The evil queen lounged back, making the mirror bigger so they could both watch comfortably, "I can't break her, but you can."

Ruby watched the mirror in horror as she realized that even her other self wouldn't need a sword, unless she wanted to make a point of killing someone… or at least trying to.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Belle woke up, but it was still dark. Something must have woken her up. Assuming it was Lorelei trying to get another handful of her, she jabs her elbow back, but there was no contact. She sat up, and looked around. Lorelei had slept against her all night. She had stayed perfectly, uncomfortably close to her. But now she was gone.

Jumping up and out of the tent, she saw Emma and Regina also coming out of theirs. They looked concerned too, especially when Belle told them Lorelei was missing. Together they listened and heard a voice through the trees, too far to make out. They all quietly made their way towards the sounds, the voices becoming clearer as they got closer.

"I don't understand…" it was Lorelei. She was obviously stressed about something. "What did I do wrong? I'll do anything to make it up, I swear. Please, I just don't understand!"

They hunched down by a bush to see, but didn't want to blow full force into whatever the siren was arguing with. As Regina peeked between the trees, her heart started racing, and she nearly jumped out. The second voice stopped her though.

"It doesn't matter what you did. I don't care what you want or what you feel. Actually, I do…" Red drew a sword and aimed it at Lorelei's chest. "I wish you could feel this." She stabbed the siren in the chest, leaving the sword there as she backed away. "I wish I could kill you. But I can't, so just leave me alone. Don't you ever find me. Do you understand?"

Lorelei stared at the sword and then back at Red, tears falling down her face. She nodded, and watched as she ran away. After a few unsteady flashes, she vanished. The sword hit the ground and the siren was gone.

All three women had rushed to her as soon as Ruby ran off, but they were too late. Lorelei was gone. Regina looked around wildly and thought to chase her but she was no match for a werewolf in the dark. "What was that? Was that Ruby? Please someone tell me it wasn't her."

Emma picked up the sword, turning it around, but there was nothing special about it. "That looked like Ruby…"

Belle was shaking her head, "no, Ruby wouldn't have done that. Not ever. It had to be a trick."

Regina turned towards the castle, it's silhouette stark against the night sky. "We need to get to that castle, now. Maybe, if she thinks she lost Ruby, she will want to get Henry back. If she thinks that's all that is left, she might go get him." They all nodded and started off in the dark towards the castle.

…

Ruby stared, openly crying and not caring how much the evil queen was enjoying her pain. Red had called Lorelei out and her face apparently trumped the red cloak. Lorelei followed her into the trees, happily smiling as they walked. When they stopped, Red had told her she hated her, despised everything about her and wished she could kill her. Ruby could feel her heart break as Lorelei stood, unmoving with tears on her cheeks. She had never seen so much emotion on the sirens face. It crushed Rubys soul.

When the siren vanished, the evil queen vanished the mirror and patted Ruby on the head before poofing her back to the cell she shared with Henry. Ruby was chained to the wall, but even if she weren't, she couldn't do anything except cry. She cried for Lorelei and she cried for herself.

Henry couldn't reach Ruby on the other side of the cell, he tried talking to her, to know what happened, but she wasn't responding. He didn't know what the evil queen had done to her, but he knew it must have been very bad. Ruby looked completely defeated. He sat and tried to block out the sound of her sobbing, but he had started crying too. He hoped his mothers got here very soon, but he wasn't sure they could save Ruby anymore.

He must have drifted off to sleep, because he opened his eyes to something pulling at his chains and there was sunlight coming through the tiny window. He shook his head to clear his eyes and nearly passed out again when he saw Lorelei standing over him, staring at him. "Lorelei! How did you find me?"

She smiled down at him and cocked a brow, "I marked you. I found you. That's not hard boy." She held a hand out and he happily took it, standing up and hugging her tightly. For once, she didn't try to break out of it, she just hugged him back. He excitedly rushed over to Ruby who was apparently asleep in her chains. He began pulling at them and then turned, confused to look at Lorelei who hadn't come closer.

"What're you doing? Help her, let's get out of here." He stared at her, and looked in her eyes. They were covered in a sort of film and she was frowning at Ruby. "Lorelei? Unchain her, save her. What're you doing? What's wrong?"

Lorelei shook her head and looked away from Ruby, "she doesn't want me to save her. She doesn't want me at all. I came for you, let's go." She pulled at his hand but he pulled lose from her.

He backed up from the siren, moving beside Ruby who hadn't woken up. "No, Lorelei, she loves you. You're soul mates. You have to save her because she loves you, and you love her."

Lorelei frowned hard at him, her runes sparking in her anger, "I loved her. She never loved me. This is what loving someone gets you, boy. They throw you out like garbage when they are done with you. Come away from her, I will take you home." She held out her hand but Henry shook his head and kneeled down beside Ruby.

"I'm not leaving her. You're wrong. There's something wrong with you, Lorelei. She does love you." Henry stared at her, praying she would come out of this daze she was in.

Lorelei sagged against a wall, feeling drained and broken. She stared at Henry, hurt across her face. "You would rather stay with her than come with me? You're my friend Henry, I came to save you and you're choosing her instead?"

Instead of answering, Henry slumped over, sleeping from magic. Lorelei looked around in confusion and found the evil queen staring at her. She looked concerned at Lorelei. "That's what happens isn't it?" Lorelei frowned at her, not understanding. The evil queen put a hand out and helped the siren stand upright again, putting an arm around her middle in comfort. "I know the feeling, my sweet siren. You gave in and let yourself love these people, and look what happened. They threw you off the cliff again."

Lorelei gasped and clenched her eyes shut, overwhelmed with the memories. The evil queen smiled triumphantly and pulled her into what she hoped felt like a loving and caring embrace, making soothing circles on the womans back. "Yes, I know dear. It's ok, I understand completely. Love is just a trick to make you weak. Love is always a weakness." She hugged the siren until her impatience overcame her and she gently pulled back, looking intently at the womans eyes. They were almost completely white with whatever sickness she had. Only the faintest trace of silver shone through them. She smiled at the siren and held her hand out for her to hold onto.

Lorelei looked at the hand and then at the woman. "Regina… you're different."

Smiling sweetly at her, the evil queen answered, "yes. I have changed because I had to. I suffered love too." She wiggled her hand at the siren.

Lorelei glanced back at Ruby and Henry asleep in the cell, and then at the hand again. She slowly took the offered hand and held on tightly. "Love is weakness…"

The evil queen smiled brightly and began walking her new prize out of the dungeons. "That's right dear. But don't worry, I will take very good care of you."

…

Regina Emma and Belle approached the castle, but they realized they were severely out numbered and vastly overpowered without the siren. If it were only Cora and the evil queen, maybe they stood a chance. But the evil queen was the dark one. That alone threw a wrench in their power plans. They stood and debated possible answers for the better part of the morning when someone cleared their throat behind them. They all spun around and prepared to start fighting. But it wasn't soldiers they found.

Snow and Red stood side by side watching them nervously. "Uhm, hi." Snow said, sheepishly. Red just stood and stared at Regina, frozen in fear. "So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you three aren't from around here? By around here I mean this entire world?"

Regina frowned at them and then frowned harder at the fear they showed when her frown hit them. Smoothing her features to attempt to calm them she said quietly, "we are not. Should I assume that you have met our friends, who are also not from here?"

Snow nodded, Red was still frozen in place. "I found them in the forest a few days ago. Ruby and Henry." She nudged Red who finally looked at Emma and Belle in turn.

"I met one of you late last night…" she looked ready to run when Belle stepped towards her.

"You stabbed her! It was you! Do you have any idea what you did to that poor woman? She thinks you were Ruby, her true love! You crushed her heart with your words you little…" Emma covered her mouth and pulled her back a bit, stopping her tirade.

"I did, but I didn't mean to! The evil queen got a hold of me and made me go there. I didn't know any of you existed until the moment I ran away from that woman I had stabbed! It wasn't until I ran that I had control over myself again. Then I was so frightened I just ran home and that's when my wife told me about the other me and Henry." Red was going to explain more but was silenced by the open mouthed looks on the peoples faces.

Regina's entire mental train had slammed on the brakes when Red said she had a wife. She suddenly saw the closeness of her and Snow and the encouraging hand on Red's back. "Oh my god. Oh my god are you serious?"

Emma had dropped her grip on Belle and they both were staring, apparently seeing the same thing Regina did. All three women looked at each other and started laughing. Snow rolled her eyes and shook her head at the confusion on Red's face. "Apparently, in their world, you and I are just friends. I married David we have a second child. It's really a long story. I apparently teach school and build bird houses."

Red made a face at her, "that's unsettling. What about the other me?"

"Well, you are in love with that woman you stabbed. Apparently she is an undead siren thing with a really good voice and the two of you just screw around all day… I think literally." She shrugged as Red looked disgusted at this. "Oh, and that siren? Yeah, her last girlfriend was Cora… after she died." Snow made a 'I win' face at Red before smiling and hugging her tightly.

Regina recovered from her laughter first, "okay. That's wow that is just… well that's something called ammunition for when we get home. Anyway! Back to our son and Ruby."

Everyone sobered up a bit then. "Lorelei would have gone to get him, so why hasn't she come back yet?" Belle asked seriously, chewing her lip and looking at the castle.

"Nothing is ever easy and simple with the evil queen." Snow said and made an apologetic look at Regina. "The queen went through a bit of energy to get Red to upset Lorelei. Obviously she wanted her to think Ruby no longer wants anything to do with her. I can only guess she would do the same with Henry."

Emma frowned, "we have to get in there. If she convinces Lorelei that Ruby and Henry have abandoned her, in her weakened state, she could actually join forces with her. If that happens, we will never get home, and most likely we will also die."

Red took a deep breath and spoke, "I know how we can get in there. But…" she glanced at Belle, "it's going to be uncomfortable and we may all die anyway."

Snow nodded, "in our world, Belle is a spy for the queen. She has always pretended to be our friend, but she is really a watch dog for the evil queen. I tried to hide Ruby and Henry from her, but they got into some trouble and I couldn't get away from it. Now, usually anything we say or do can be watched by the queen, but we have a little magic too." She pulled an unusual stone form her pocket. "This will cause the queen to see what we want her to see when she looks at anyone in the area of the stone. It is a bit complicated, but right now if she were to look at this area, she would see it empty. If she were to look for any of us specifically, she would find us around a campfire, looking defeated."

Regina took the stone and nodded, "I recognize this. Why do you have it?"

Taking the stone back and putting it away again Snow answered, "well, for starters, the queen has been known to be a bit of a stalker and Red and I would prefer she weren't watching certain activities." Snow blushed a bit and frowned as Regina made a gagging motion along with Emma. "Also, in the case that we choose to help people escape her grasp, we need secrecy. If ever we are even suspected, we die. Or, more likely, Red will die and I get to suffer."

"Okay, so we need to get Belle…" she thought for a moment. "That's confusing, Belle, from now on you are Lacey and this worlds Belle is Belle."

Belle threw her hands up, "oh okay, so first I have to be Ruby and get molested every three seconds and now I have to be Lacey? I am never adventuring with you lot ever again." She crossed her arms in a pout.

Snow nodded, "okay. Belle will be able to get us into the castle and to the dungeons, we have done it before. We even have a memory potion to make sure the little spy stays in the dark." She smiled and took Red's hand tightly before heading away from the castle.

Emma was thinking too hard, based on the look on her face so Regina asked her what was wrong. "She didn't get all weird mommy on me. I was expecting that once I realized she was Snow."

Regina nodded, that was a good point. She called a halt to their procession, "I think we need some filler information. For example, why exactly aren't you fussing all over your daughter?"

Snow smiled sadly, "I know who Emma is, but…" Red squeezed her hand in encouragement. "The Emma here, she isn't like you and I don't want to know an Emma I can't keep…" Snow went on to explain about the evil queen and Emma, and that led to more questions and more answers. Apparently, the evil queen would let Snow see Emma as much as she wanted, but Emma never saw her back. On Emma's 21st birthday, the evil queen asked Emma if she wanted to meet Snow. Emma knew the history of the land, and so knew about the curse and Snow's sacrifice. Emma had stated she had no desire to meet a woman who could give up her own child, no matter the reason. She had never wanted to see Snow. She decided the evil queen wanted her, so she didn't need anyone else. Emma wasn't a prisoner.

Emma had tears in her eyes but nodded, "ok. I get that."

Snow smiled at her and nodded, "sometimes it's best not to see what you can't have. I am glad that somewhere, somehow, I got to be a part of your life Emma."

They continued on their journey, trading stories as they walked.

….


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The evil queen led the siren through the castle, still firmly attached to her hand. She had tried getting free of it, but the woman seemed to insist upon it. Eventually, they reached the guest room nearest the queens private suite, and she tried to make her stay there, but it became rather clear that she had collected a leech in the form of a siren.

Heaving a massive sigh, the evil queen tried again, for the hundredth time in an hour, "Lorelei. Please, hear me. You are going to stay in this room, my own rooms are right there," she pointed at her doors where Emma stood guard. "Right there. Ten feet away. Okay?" She waited until the siren nodded before turning and walking away. She made it three steps before she heard Lorelei catch up to her and take her hand again. She bit her lip to resist screaming at her. It wouldn't do to insult the siren, she would quite likely go back to the people she knew and then the evil queen would be over powered again. She did the only thing she could, after having tried everything to get the creature to leave off. She sighed and walked to her own rooms, siren in tow.

If she didn't know better, she would have thought Emma was fighting an amused smile. She squinted at her and the blonde quickly resumed her stony expression. After they were in the queens suite, Lorelei released her and began looking around the room. She seemed to be simply wandering, not really examining anything.

"You can sleep in the servants room, just right there," the queen pointed at the door attached to the main room of her suite. "It's nice, and very close to my area."

Lorelei went and opened the door, looking in quickly before closing it and smiling at her again, "no, thank you."

The queen deflated, her face pulling into a grimace, "then where, exactly do you intend to sleep at night?"

Lorelei rushed to her and took her hand again, smiling brightly, "with you. I never sleep alone. Not in thousands of years."

"You… want to sleep with me?" she questioned her in disbelief.

Lorelei nodded, "yes."

"I see…" moving closer to the siren, she stared up at her, pressing against her lightly. "What exactly do you mean by this?"

Lorelei frowned at her in confusion, "I mean whatever you want me to mean?"

The evil queen smiled darkly at her, putting her arms around the sirens neck. It wasn't very often she had such a willing companion...

…..

Red slipped through the woods like a shadow, no one ever saw her unless she wanted them to. She spied Belle sitting behind her little cottage, reading a book. Red had done this so many times, it was nearly comical how she did everything the same way and still, because of the memory potion, Belle fell for it every time. She moved up slowly behind Belle and put a hood over her head. In the hood, was a vapor that put her to sleep in seconds. Once she was out, Red carried her back to the others. They all headed back to the castle grounds as if it was entirely normal to be carrying an unconscious Belle through the woods. Once they arrived, Red put her down and waved something under her nose, waking her up quickly.

Belle shook her head and stared at the people around her, her eyes landed on Regina and Emma and she immediately went pale. "Your majesty! What is going on?"

Red rolled her eyes, "ok, we're skipping the long chat because we are in a hurry. You are going to get us into the dungeons, we are going to free some people and then we will let you go."

Belle stared at Regina and shook her head, not fully understanding, "but, why.. I don't know what you think I can do."

Snow sighed and took Belle by the chin, making her look at 'Lacey'. "These are the other strangers. They are rather upset that you decided to tell the evil queen about Ruby and Henry." She turned her head back to Regina, "she is the other evil queen. She will kill you if you do not help us."

Regina frowned hard at Belle, they had decided using Regina was the best bet. "I assure you, I am in no mood for forgiveness Belle. My son is in the dungeons, how do you think that makes me feel?" She conjured a fireball for effect, and it worked. Belle started talking quickly, spilling everything she knew about the prisoners whereabouts.

Red held her hand out and Belle immediately put a golden signet ring in her hand. Red nodded at Emma and she slipped the bag back over Belle's head. The woman immediately passed out again. Emma looked at the golden ring, "that's how you get in the dungeons?" Red nodded, "well why not just steal it and leave Belle out of it?"

Red put the ring on, "because, it only works if it is willingly given. That prevents theft. Belle uses it to go to the throne room to speak to the evil queen, we use it to go to the dungeons." She held the ringed hand out and a portal the size of a door opened, opening to a darkened hallway, obviously underground.

Regina stepped through first, silently cursing her other self for blocking magic on castle grounds. She thought she could probably use hers, and Emma hers too, but it would probably be noticed immediately and they would all die. A lot of death probabilities today.

Belle stayed with the other Belle to make sure she didn't wake up before they got back, and the other women walked into the dungeons. Red took the lead once she closed the portal, she walked through the halls, using her wolf senses to locate their targets.

They rounded a corner and there was Henry and Ruby, Henry was laying half on top of Ruby who was still chained up. Regina rushed to him and quickly shook him awake. He started talking as soon as he opened his eyes about Lorelei being sick and Ruby being tortured somehow.

Regina covered his mouth and said very quietly, "we know. We don't know what the evil queen did with Lorelei, but we know she is sick. You two first, and then her okay?" Henry nodded and moved away from Ruby. Regina couldn't use her magic to undo the shackles. She stood and backed up.

Snow went to Ruby and shook her awake. Ruby didn't start talking, she just started crying. Snow whispered soothingly to her and began picking the locks on the shackles. Once they were all off, Ruby wrapped her arms around Snow, sobbing and talking quietly. Red shifted uncomfortably. After all, it wasn't every day you got to watch your twin hugging your wife.

After a few minutes, the two women stood, Ruby looking broken inside. She looked up and saw Red and her eyes flashed yellow with anger. Regina blocked her vision with her body and reminded her that Red was saving them both and the evil queen is who she should be mad with, not Red.

Ruby nodded and calmed herself, moving to Henry and they all waited for Red to open the portal. Except, she wasn't opening it. She held her hand up and waved and shook it. Nothing happened. Regina went to her and was inspecting the ring when they heard a throaty laugh behind them.

They turned around, but everyone knew what they would find there. Emma and Regina moved in front of everyone else, hands held ready to blast the evil queen with any magic they could stir up.

The evil queen simply stood and smirked at them, "do you know what I love the most about all of this? I didn't have to run around, chasing you people, you came to me. In fact, you put yourselves in my dungeon!" She laughed loudly and smiled a toothy smile at them. She waved a hand, almost lazily and a heavy metal cuff appeared on Emma's wrist, and Regina's. They had no magic and it happened so fast, they never had a chance. They both were pushed aside as two wolves burst from behind them, leaping towards the evil queen. She didn't flinch as a blast of magic shot past her and hit both wolves, throwing them into an empty cell. The door snapped shut and both werewolf women were trapped.

Emma stepped up beside the queen, staring at her otherworldly counterpart. "Is this it? Is that the best I became in that world?" She made a disgusted face and waved her hand again, sending Emma and Regina into another empty cell and locking the door.

The queen nodded, "yes, aren't they cute? I have never been so happy about not casting that ridiculous curse." She laughed at the remaining people, Snow and Henry. She put on a mock surprised face, "Snow White! Oh no! I can't believe you broke into my dungeon!" She dropped the face as she stepped up into Snow's personal space.

Refusing to back up, Snow tried not to let her voice shake, "you've always known, haven't you?"

The evil queen cocked a brow, "that you use Belle to sneak my prisoners out? Yes dear. What I love, is that I knew if I let you keep doing it, eventually I would be able to simply lock you up. It should be easier to poke at you if you are in my dungeons." She smiled and pointed to a cell, Snow put her head down and walked in, no fight left in her.

Henry stood defiantly staring up at her. "You won't win. Evil never wins. Lorelei will…"

He jumped at the sound of her sudden, loud laughter "Lorelei?! The siren? Oh, you poor stupid little boy! If that is the hope you are keeping in your little heart, you better think up something else child."

He stepped up closer to her, pretending as hard as he could that he wasn't scared. He heard Regina tell him to stop, to be quiet, but he couldn't. "Where is she? What did you do with her?"

Emma pushed him away from the evil queen, knocking him to the floor. "Mind your manners kid."

The evil queen mouthed thank you to her and she leaned down, an evil grin on her amused face, "your little siren is not a threat to me darling, not anymore. In fact, the only reason she is not stuck like glue to me right now, is because I convinced her it would make me happy if she took a bath before we go to bed."

She glanced up at the window and then turned to leave, magically forcing Henry into the cell with Snow and locking the door. She stopped at the cell holding Red and Ruby and pointed at Ruby. "You, I believe you are the stranger yes?" Ruby growled back at her, her wolf almost coming back unbidden from her anger. The queen nodded, "thought so. You have a look in your eye that the other doesn't have. Anyway!" She clapped her hands together and bit her lip before staring intently at Ruby, "I was wondering if you had any tips as to what exactly the siren prefers in the area of intimacy?"

Ruby threw herself at the cell bars, trying desperately to reach the queen, but she was out of reach. "Keep your filthy hands off of her!"

Laughing darkly and smiling broadly the evil queen whispered at her, "too late". She waltzed out of the dungeons, Emma close behind, laughing wildly.

Ruby screamed in anger as loud as she could for as long as she could before sinking to the stone floor and sobbing yet again. Red stayed away from her, not wanting to get in the path of her emotions. Snow and Henry were huddled together, Snow softly crying into his hair. Henry just stared blankly, his hope was sleeping with the enemy, apparently.

Emma and Regina were still standing, holding on to each other tightly. They would take a moment to recover from all of this, and then try again to find a way out of this entire mess.

…..

Belle waited until the portal to the dungeon had closed before moving away from the comatose other Belle. The woman gave her the creeps. She couldn't fathom becoming a spy for Regina. If the evil queen had released her, she would have ran as far, and as fast as she could. This Belle made no sense at all. She sat on a log a few feet away from her counterpart and watched closely for any signs from inside the castle that something had gone wrong. She never even noticed the man coming up behind her.

Once this other Belle was out cold on the ground, Wil raced to his Belle, picking her up quickly and disappearing into the woods with her. He wasn't even half sure of what was going on around here, but he knew that he was going to take this woman back to his land. She obviously wasn't safe here. He supposed if she was upset about being in another realm, he could bring her back. But honestly, what woman wouldn't want to be kidnapped by him? He is, after all, the king of Wonderland.

…..

The evil queen happily walked back to her rooms, Emma shifting off to her own chambers close by for the night. She took a deep breath and entered her room. She wasn't really sure what to do with this siren. It's not as if she had never slept with a woman before, she often blackmailed ladies into her bed. This however was very strange to her. This was apparently a willing partner, and an immortal woman no less. She crossed to her private bathing chamber and opened the door. The siren sat in the tub, still hot enough to be steamy. She was smiling cheekily at something opposite her and when the queen followed her eyes, they nearly popped out of her head.

"Mother?!" the queen stared as her naked mother hurriedly reached for a towel to cover herself. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

Cora stared at her daughter wide eyed and searched for a reason. She found absolutely nothing. So she decided to do the truth this time around. "Well, you see, I came by to speak with you, but you were not in your rooms. I happened to see two servant girls dip into the bathing room, full of giggles. I thought you had convinced them to join you and I was going to make sure you understood how inappropriate it would be for a queen to toy with servants. But, when I entered, imagine my surprise when I found dear Lorelei in your tub." Cora put her hands up helplessly, "well, when the servants saw me, they raced out of here. I didn't want our dear siren to be forced to wash herself, that's beneath a queen, of course. So I decided to help." She finished with what she thought sounded like confidence.

The evil queen stared at her in utter disbelief. "You were going to screw the siren."

Cora frowned at her, "language Regina. Really…" she fussed with her hair a moment before shaking her head, "and anyway, I wouldn't have, probably. But, she knew my name and invited me. She even mentioned a few things she would like to assist me with that seem incredibly pleasant." Cora whispered loudly at her daughter, "it's as if she knows me…"

"Out."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Out, mother, get out."

"Regina that is no way to speak to your mother." Cora stood as righteously as she could given her naked state.

The queen stared her down angrily, "ever since you decided to put your heart back in you have been completely out of your mind, mother. This siren is mine. I found her, I held her hand for hours, I brought her to my chambers. She is mine and you will do well to remember that."

Cora glanced sideways at Lorelei who wiggled her brows back at her. Finally, she sighed heavily. "Fine, Regina. I will give you this one." She strode out of the room with her nose in the air as if she had won something.

Turning to the siren once again, she put her hands on her hips and stared down at her smiling face. "What is wrong with you?" When Lorelei just shrugged the queen groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will forgive you this time." She leaned over the tub and kissed the siren very deeply and intrusively, but the woman pulled back too quickly to get to the good parts.

Frowning, Lorelei said, "forgive me? What did I do?"

Raising her brows, the queen gestured out the door her mother had walked out of, "well you almost did my mother."

Lorelei shrugged, "I don't think that would have been wrong."

"How could that not be wrong? I thought you intended to bed with me this night?"

Lorelei looked up at her innocently, "I do."

Confusion and anger getting harder to control, the queen asked through her clamped together teeth, "what makes you think you can bed with me if you also bed my mother?"

Lorelei blinked at her, "I have had sex with your mother in every building in Storybrooke, I don't see why having her in this tub would be any different."

As the queens mouth fell open from shock, the siren saw it fit to add to her statement with, "and besides,…"

….

Emma and Regina had been attempting to pick the lock on the cell door, to no avail, when the loudest scream pierced through the entire castle. Rage magic coursed through the air and everyone in a mile radius was sent to the ground in the tremors. All of a sudden, the evil queen, looking madder than she had ever imagined, appeared just outside Ruby and Red's cell, shaking the bars violently.

"You did not tell me my mother was in your land! You never said that filthy siren had been sleeping with her!" The evil queen left red hot burns on the bars she gripped as Ruby smiled at her.

"You never asked about your mother. Your magic can make me answer your questions, but I saw no reason to volunteer information. Besides," Ruby shrugged, "she fucked your mom in the underworld, not our world. Technically, she was pounding your mother after she died. You never asked about that time when Lorelei was queen of the underworld." Frowning in thought she added, "in fact you never asked about how Lorelei has literally screwed thousands of women before now… but mostly your mom. She tore that bitch up! Old whore…" Ruby finished speaking with a smile on her face.

Instead of tearing the wolf apart right this second, the evil queen just fumed at her for a few more moments before telling the entire dungeon, "you are all being put to the death in one week. I was going to keep you, but it seems this pup is a bit too mouthy for her own good."

She raised her hand to poof when there was a streak of lightening and Lorelei appeared beside her, gripping her hand tightly. She looked at the queen intently, "did I make you mad? Was it because I told you that you taste like your mother?"

There was a collective burst of disgusted moans groans and cries from the prisoners as the evil queen turned red faced with rage. She barely contained it as she growled at the siren, "I am not mad. I am fine. Would you like to go to bed now?"

Lorelei nodded, "yes, you look exhausted."

In an attempt to salvage her pride and ego, the queen put thoughts of her naked mother out of her head and touched the sirens lips with her finger, enjoying the growl from Ruby at the contact. "I'm not tired. Can you find a way to wear me out?"

Lorelei smiled happily, "of course. I want to make sure you are tired so you can keep you hands from trying to get me. I know I am irresistible to you Regina. I have always seen the total want and lust from you."

The queen faltered, "excuse me? I thought that was the point of sleeping together?"

Lorelei laughed and squeezed her hand, "of course not. I'm not having sex with you, Regina. I'm not allowed to. I could have sex with your mother, because I already did anyway. But not you, I am not allowed to have sex with friends. It's a rule." She smacked the queens backside, making her jump and led her out of the dungeon, partially dragging her. "I think to wear you out we will try running first…" Her voice trailed off as they moved away from the dungeons.

Everyone in their cells stared after the queen and the siren. Ruby started giggling. It was so unexpected, everyone stared at her. She leaned against the bars shaking her head and smiling. "I told her, repeatedly, after she made rude or vulgar remarks, that she couldn't sleep with anyone else. She didn't get it, she didn't understand monogamy. So, one day, I told her 'you're not allowed to have sex with friends. It's a rule, because if you have sex with them they become lovers and not friends. If you want to have friends, you can't screw them.'" Ruby laughed again, "I told her the only person she could have sex with was me, and that's because I am her girlfriend. It was the only reasoning that made her not try to sleep with other women." She rolled her eyes, "and apparently it stuck. She will totally 'sleep' with someone but not have sex with them. Well," she added with a sour look on her face, "except Cora apparently. I didn't think to add suddenly alive again ex-girlfriends to the conversation."

Regina rolled her eyes and smiled too, "well, at least that's one thing the evil queen isn't going to get."

Emma looked a little sick though, "how am I supposed to forget I heard the part where you taste like Cora?" Regina laughed and hugged her.

Henry looked as if he was fighting not to throw up himself, "how am I supposed to forget that entire conversation?!" Snow hugged him and tried to hide her own giggles.

Red looked stunned in the corner still, "I cannot believe you hooked up with something that used to sleep with Cora Mills." Ruby just shrugged and started picking at their lock again. Emma and Regina soon joined in the picking of locks. If they didn't get out of here, they had one week to live.

…


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

After four days in the dungeon, the prisoners began to lose hope that they were going to make it through this one. The evil queen had not been back to see them, they hadn't seen or heard from the siren either. The only scrap they had left to hold on to was that Belle hadn't joined them in the dungeon. She must have still been out in the world.

The guards showed up and gave them their one meal for the day, which they ate, but certainly didn't enjoy. Then they just sat, and waited. At some point they realized Henry didn't have a magic shackle on him, and they had tried to get his magic to work enough to open the cells, or at least remove one of his mothers shackles, but aside from some burns, it had been unsuccessful also.

It was somewhere near midnight, as far as they could tell when they all jumped awake at the sound of a mocking voice in the dungeon. "Seriously? I have no idea how any of you have survived so long without me in your lives… Especially you, little sister."

Regina jumped to her feet, "Zelena?!"

Zelena appeared in a green cloud and waved her hand, all at once the shackled were gone and the doors were open. "Now, let's catch up later shall we? Wouldn't want the bad seeds catching us." She winked and they all left the dungeon in a green puff of smoke.

Once they appeared again, on the shoreline by the rickety molded boat, Regina hugged her sister hard. "Zelena, how in the hell did you find us? How did you get in the dungeon? How did you…"

Zelena hushed her with a finger pointing behind them. Belle stood by the dock with a smug smile on her face, "I suppose you all forgot about me then?"

Everyone ran to Belle and started asking her a thousand questions, but she held her hands up in defense, "I can't take all the credit. I was knocked out by something and when I woke up, the other me was gone. However, I couldn't really do anything, so I came back here. I had hoped maybe you had all gotten out and found your way here, but obviously, no. I started talking, mostly to myself, when I realized that the sirens were probably still here. I got on the boat, and there they were. Apparently whatever magic Lorelei cast on the ship that made us see them before, had stuck. I don't speak magic music, of course, so I just told them everything we had been through here and that you all were missing. Before long, a load of them shot off across the water, so I waited." She gestured at Zelena.

Smiling triumphantly, Zelena said, "I get credit now, because I thought to myself, 'hey, you know what? I bet that some of those sirens are still around here.' So, I made a potion just like the one Regina gave Emma. They popped up, obviously wigging out about something across the ocean. Well, they found a boat, I got on it, and here I am!"

Belle nodded, "I told her everything that had happened and she would have been there sooner, but she had to wait for the evil queens strength to lessen."

Regina frowned, "the evil queen lost her power?"

Zelena shook her head, "no, but the barrier around the castle has been weakening bit by bit. As soon as I could safely get in to get you, I did."

Emma nodded, "who wants to bet that taking care of Lorelei is wearing the evil queen down?"

Everyone made sounds of agreement. Henry looked at the castle again, "we can't leave without her."

Ruby squeezed his hand, "you all should go, but I will stay. I will find a way to get through to her, even if it takes the rest of my life."

Henry tried to argue, but Ruby refused to listen. Red and Snow were off to the side, quietly considering their own options. Zelena was eye balling them, trying to figure them out. "So… you two will probably die, if you stay here. However, it might be a bit weird if you tag along our boat…"

Snow sighed heavily, "even if we wanted to go with you, I can't. I'm magically bound to this land by the evil queen. We just have to hope we can hide from her." Red pulled her into a hug and held her tight.

Zelena hopped up and down and clapped excitedly, "you two are together! Oh my god that's amazing! You know, I always knew there was something more to the whole 'rainbow stickers' thing."

Regina rolled her eyes, "back on subject, we aren't leaving until Lorelei comes with us. The obvious answer is that Ruby has to save her. But even if we can accomplish that much, she is still sick with something we can't identify."

Belle cleared her throat, getting everyones attention again. "Actually, I have thought about that, and if you can get her to the water here, I think I know how to cure her."

Everyone went to Belle, eager to hear about this cure, except Ruby. She waited until everyone was distracted and got Zelena's attention. Ruby pulled her aside and whispered to her so no one would notice, "I need you to poof me to wherever Lorelei is, right now."

Zelena stared at her with shock, "are you completely mad? She is probably with the evil queen. Not to mention, from what I heard, she thinks you hate her. You will be fried wolf before you get a word out."

Ruby nodded gravely, "maybe. But, I have to try. If I don't do something now, everyone will be in danger again. It won't be long before the evil slut notices we're missing. You're strong, but she's much stronger Zelena. This time we will all be in the dungeon, and we will all die. I have to try." Zelena considered her for a moment then nodded slowly. "Thank you. Now, poof me to her, as close as possible. If I'm not back in thirty minutes, or if you feel some magic barbeque at the castle, get them out of here. I don't care if you hog tie them on to the boat. Get them out."

Zelena smirked, "I'd love to see Regina hog tied, but I think you'll be back." She closed her eyes and focused, pinpointing the unique magic of the siren, she opened her eyes and stared at Ruby intently, "you're sure?" Ruby nodded quickly. "Okay, good luck pup." Ruby disappeared in a green cloud.

….

As soon as the smoke cleared, Ruby looked around quickly, expecting fireballs. Fortunately, none came. The only thing that was around, was an antique piano, and Lorelei on the bench. Ruby's favorite song was gently rolling out of the instrument, guided and coaxed out by the siren's expert hands. Ruby took a deep breath, slowly approaching Lorelei. The siren sat, playing the song, eyes closed and a small smile on her face.

Ruby stood a few feet back from her, not wanting to startle her… and not wanting her to stop playing. The song came to an end, and Ruby was so caught up in the memories, she spoke without thinking, "play it again…" Ruby snapped her mouth shut, staring wide eyed at the siren.

Lorelei put her hands on the first keys and glanced at Ruby sideways, "only if you sit with me."

Ruby couldn't stop the tears from falling as she sat down carefully, and slowly, next to the siren. Lorelei closed her eyes again and started the song. Ruby again got caught up in the flow of it, she gently put her head on Lorelei's shoulder, just like every other time the siren had played this for her. The song ended and Ruby put a lot of effort into not asking for it again. She slowly pulled away from Lorelei and waited.

After a few quiet moments, the siren turned slowly and opened her eyes just halfway to look at her. Ruby gasped and more tears fell as she saw the cloud filled eyes of her love. Without thought, Ruby cupped the sirens face with her hands, "oh, Lorelei. Oh there is something very wrong with you! How do you feel?"

Lorelei smiled at her and removed Ruby's hands, holding them in her own. "I believe I am ill. But I don't understand very much lately. You said you hate me."

Ruby shook her head and in a voice broken from crying she told her, "no, no. That wasn't me, it was the evil queen. She tricked you to make you hers instead of mine. She locked me and everyone else up. I love you, I will always love you. Nothing in the world could ever make me hate you. Not ever."

Lorelei released one of Ruby's hands and gently wiped the tears away from her face. "I don't like it when you cry."

Ruby sniffed and smiled sadly, "yeah, I know. It's pretty ugly."

Lorelei used her free hand to turn Ruby's head up to meet her eyes, "nothing you do is ugly. I don't like it when you cry because every tear is like a piece of my heart being leaked out and torn apart. It hurts to see you cry."

Ruby sobbed again and then threw her arms around Lorelei, holding her tightly as she cried harder when Lorelei held her just as tightly. "I love you so much. Please, please come with me. Don't stay with the evil queen."

Lorelei pulled back and gave her a confused look, "I haven't been with the evil queen. I was with Regina for awhile, but she threw me out so I have been with Cora."

Ruby grimaced hard at the mental images attached to that scenario. "Okay, uhm, let's not mention what you have been doing with Cora okay?"

Innocently, Lorelei replied, "singing, mostly. She likes to sing while I play the piano."

Frowning, Ruby couldn't crush her own curiosity, "Lorelei, I'm gonna ask a question. I want an honest, simple answer. No matter what, I still love you okay?" Lorelei nodded, smiling blankly. "Okay…" Ruby took a deep breath, "How many people have you had sex with since you last saw me?"

Lorelei frowned and seemed thoughtful, but then smiled and answered, "none."

Ruby stared, "you haven't had sex with Cora? Or Regina? Or like a serving maid or some shit?"

Lorelei shook her head and shrugged, "I only want you. Even if you didn't want me."

Ruby threw herself at the siren, kissing her mouth and cheeks and forehead and nose and repeating this until they were both on the floor and Lorelei was laughing, "Lorelei, I love you. You're an idiot, and arrogant and stupid and I love you and I want to marry you and have like forty babies and live happily ever after."

Lorelei held Ruby at arms length, suddenly serious, "no. Not forty, I can only give you one. But I can marry you."

Ruby stared, mouth hanging open, "uhm, ok… well I was just being funny but… You can do that? Make a baby I mean?"

Lorelei nodded goofily, "yes."

Ruby cocked her head, never having even considered the remotest possibility of having kids with anyone, especially not Lorelei. "Well, that's… that's something…"

Before another heart beat, the door on the room they were in burst open and the evil queen, Emma and Cora burst in, fire magic and sword at the ready. Lorelei made a strange growling noise as everything flew towards them at once. And then… everything stopped. Lorelei stood, helping Ruby to her feet. Ruby stared at the sword and balls of magic and fire that stopped mid flight, having been aimed at them.

Lorelei looked furious as she waved her hand and it all vanished, and then unfroze the three royals. She growled at them as they tried to back up from her approach, but they hit an invisible wall. "How dare you? Do you know who this woman is? She is my girlfriend. She is my soul mate. I love her and you attacked her."

The evil queen stared at the siren with a look of terror, "Lorelei, we thought you were being attacked! We were trying to save you. She is the woman who broke your heart remember? She said she hates you and wanted to kill you! She makes you weak."

Lorelei got nose to nose with the evil queen, "she loves me. She wants to have like 40 of my babies. If she makes me weak, I will crawl to stay beside her. I would give every drop of my magic and strength just to see her face. She told me not to find her, so I didn't. But, she found me. She found me, and she came here for me. She wants to keep me."

Emma had drawn a long knife at some point and stabbed at the siren. Lorelei grabbed the blade and there was a flash of silver light. When the light was gone, so was Emma. On the floor where Emma had been was a blonde infant, sleeping soundly. The evil queen jumped back and stared, wide eyed. She shot her eyes back to Lorelei and roared as she threw magic at her. There was another flash of light and then a brunette baby slept beside Emma.

Lorelei cocked a brow at Cora, but the older woman held her hands up in surrender. "I'm good, darling. No fight from me. Uhm…" Cora motioned to the babies. "Can I keep them?" She smiled brightly, looking half insane at the siren.

Lorelei shrugged and smiled, "of course."

Cora clapped happily and gently picked up both babies. Cooing at the babes, Cora looked at the siren, "last time I raised Regina, I did it without my own heart. This time, I will be better."

Ruby stepped beside Lorelei and shook her head at the whole scene. "Well, we will just pretend this is all normal. Lorelei, we need to go to the ship, where you came here at."

Lorelei nodded happily and in a flash of silver, Ruby, Lorelei and Cora with her babies were by the boat. When they appeared, everyone started to cheer, but then stared at Cora instead. Half fear and half shock. Snow was the first to act. "Ruby, what's going on?"

Ruby had a thought and smiled at Lorelei before whispering in her ear. Lorelei looked thoughtful and then turned to Cora, "can Snow have one?"

Cora looked hurt but then considered it a moment. "Well, I am a bit older, maybe two babies at the same time would be a bit much. She can have the blonde one."

Snow looked entirely bewildered, "I don't want Cora's baby!" Red was beside her, looking equally perplexed.

Cora laughed and stood in front of Snow, "this one was never mine dear…"

Snow hesitantly looked closer at the little blonde infant Cora held. She covered her mouth with her hands and started crying, Red was looking over her shoulder at the baby, "is that… is that…?"

"Emma!" Snow said as she took the baby from Cora, holding it as if it would break. "This is Emma. My baby girl."

Red looked suspiciously at Cora, "what's going on? How is this possible?"

Cora waved at the siren and said, "magic."

Red had gotten close to the siren and realized it when Lorelei suddenly had a hold of her hand instead of Rubys. She tried to shake her off, but that didn't work. Ruby finally saw what was happening and turned Lorelei's face to look at her. As soon as their eyes met, she released Red and grabbed for Ruby's hand instead. Ruby smirked at Red and whispered, "you might want to avoid proximity with that face of ours." She winked as Red quickly went back by Snow.

Red smiled at her wife and new baby, "I guess we'll have to add a room to the cottage."

Cora snapped her gaze to the couple and said sternly, "absolutely not!"

Everyone tensed, waiting for Cora to take command of the entire realm. Regina said in a low, warning tone, "mother…"

Cora looked her up and down and huffed, "do not call me that dear, my daughter is in my arms. Respect your mother." Regina rolled her eyes at her. "Obviously your mother never taught you manners. Anyway!" Cora turned back to Red and Snow, "there are plenty of rooms in the castle already. You two will be crowned tomorrow morning. I'm too old to be chasing babies and ruling a realm."

Snow and Red immediately started protesting, but Cora ignored them. Lorelei was staring off in a daze again and Ruby squeezed her hand to keep her grounded. She led her siren away from the royal argument and over to where Emma and Henry were. They had just watched everything, deciding not to try and get in that mess. "Has Belle figured anything out to help Lorelei?"

Emma shrugged and Henry said, "I don't know, they have been on the boat since you left."

Emma was frowning at Regina, arguing with Cora and Snow, "do you think me and Regina can make a kid?"

Ruby and Henry stared at her open mouthed. Lorelei however, spoke to Emma, "well of course. You have true love."

Emma rolled her eyes at the siren, "yeah, true love, not a semen spewing wiener."

Henry made a gagging noise, "are you serious? Do you people just not see me standing here?"

Emma gave him an apologetic look, "sorry…"

Lorelei smiled at Emma, "you have true love. True love is magic. You also have magic. Use the magic to make the wiener, use the true love magic to make the baby." Henry threw his hands up and stormed off, disgusted. Emma however, looked completely confused.

"Okay, so I magic up the parts, how exactly do i… you know…" Emma made a weird thrusting motion.

Ruby started laughing at what she assumed was Emma trying to ask how to impregnate someone, how to make magic do that, but Lorelei didn't get it. "What do you not understand? You do it the same way as when you use the purple strapped thing you have."

Emma frowned hard at her, "how exactly do you know about that?"

Ruby tried to stop her, but Lorelei held her hands down and spoke anyway, "I found it when I stole your watermelon flavored massage oil."

Ruby squeezed her eyes shut and mumbled, "I didn't know where she got it until just now I swear…"

Emma threw her hands up and stormed towards Regina angrily yelling, "I fucking told you I didn't lose it!"

Ruby laughed at the confused look on Lorelei's face, "okay. I'm over this sickness. Obviously you have no filter on your mouth right now. Let's go check in with Belle."

Lorelei smiled happily as Ruby led her up the ramp to the boat. Belle and Zelena stood there, apparently waiting for something. Lorelei waved at Belle, "hello beautiful."

Belle frowned at her and then cursed under her breath. She was still wearing the red cloak. She took it off and Lorelei frowned at her, "Belle, why do you have Ruby's cloak?"

Cocking a brow at Ruby, Belle gave her cloak back. "you have no idea how much you owe me for this entire adventure."

Ruby just smiled as she put her cloak on. Lorelei smiled happily at her and slipped a hand under her cloak to grab her bottom, causing Ruby to jump a little and pry her hand back out. She smiled at Belle, "I'm guessing there was a lot of this?"

Belle crossed her arms and was about to tell her exactly what she had been through, but a flash of gold stopped her. On the deck were three winged sirens, and two without wings. They looked shinier than the winged versions.

Lorelei released Ruby and walked to them, examining them. "I don't know you."

The wingless sirens laughed in a musical way and then promptly vanished again. The three with wings smiled triumphantly and watched out to see… waiting for something more.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Lorelei watched with the golden sirens for about two minutes before wandering off again. They looked at her with concern in their eyes, but waited and watched the ocean. Ruby watched her siren wander around the rotted ship, she seemed to be taking steps without much thought. She eventually looked up and when she saw Ruby, she smiled brightly and rushed to her again.

As Ruby smiled back at her and offered her hand to her, she felt a deep sadness and fear that Lorelei might never be the same again. She did love the softer, calmer side of her, but the wildness was very attractive also. Of course, she would love her just as much if she had to stay like this, but Ruby very much hoped whatever the golden women were doing would find a cure for her.

Belle was watching Ruby and Lorelei and sighed heavily before speaking, "you know… it wasn't all terrible, pretending to be you."

Ruby looked at her, a little shocked. "Really? What part of it wasn't so bad?"

Belle laughed, "well, I'm not saying there weren't horrid bits. I'm just saying, it was sort of… nice." Belle shrugged.

Ruby was still at a loss however, "I don't understand Belle. Do you secretly want my girlfriend and you're jealous I'm back?" Ruby couldn't hold the laughter in as Belle turned bright red and frowned hard at her.

"Absolutely not!" Belle crossed her arms, but she couldn't stay mad either and soon she laugh a little too. "I just meant, it was nice to pretend that someone would give up their magic for me. I mean, she thought that kissing me would steal her magic, and she was just like 'I don't care' and tried to anyway. Granted, she thought I was you and we convinced her she needed her magic to get Henry. But still, she didn't think twice about it. It was really… well, amazing."

Ruby wanted to hug the woman, she seemed to need it, but when she stepped towards her, Belle held her hands up and looked panicked, "no! No, no no." She smiled at Ruby, "I appreciate the support, but if you hug me, your little creature will likely kill me." She gestured at Lorelei who was staring at Belle, as if daring her to get too close.

"Oh… really?" Ruby looked like she didn't believe such a crazy display of possession.

Belle nodded, "trust me. Wil almost became a filet when he hugged me."

They laughed together and Belle was telling her everything that they had done to keep the siren in check, and Belle unmolested. Ruby pulled a lot of grimaces, and she apologized a lot too. When they got to the part about having sex in the library, she apologized more and turned her own shade of red. She wanted to hear more, but the sirens started making excited noises, pulling the attention to them.

They were waving wildly to some unseen thing in the water. Ruby was about to ask Lorelei what it was when 'it' became very obvious.

"No shit! Oh my god I didn't believe you! I thought you all figured out how to pull pranks! Look at her! She's lovely… well, I mean the black trim is a bit gothic for my tastes, but still." The silvery siren shouted at the golden sirens around her.

"Oh hell no!" Ruby shouted without meaning to.

The new siren approached Ruby who had fully caught her attentions by shouting. She looked her up and down and licked her lips with her best smile. She finally made it to her eyes which looked entirely furious, "I'm terribly sorry woman, how rude of me not to introduce myself…"

Ruby rolled her eyes and interrupted, "you're Lorelei, immortal and immoral queen of the sirens."

New Lorelei blinked at her, but didn't lose her smile, she chose instead to give the other Lorelei a good look. She seemed to look from Ruby's heart to hers and frowned a bit. And then she made an error.

"My dear woman, I want to wish you congratulations! You have been upgraded from this broken Lorelei to the fully functional model…" She reached for Ruby's hand, but never made it.

Before anyone could have helped the situation, sick Lorelei had magic blasted the shinier version off the side of the ship and into the ocean, violently. Ruby grabbed her arm before she could go after her some more. "Lorelei! Stop, I'm not going with her, seriously. She is probably your only chance to get better. We need to not kill her, or piss her off entirely!"

Lorelei stared at Ruby for a few moments before nodding and smiling at her again. Her white eyes looking at nothing after a few more moments.

The new Lorelei flashed onto the deck again, looking at her attacker with a new focused study. She finally took a deep breath and nodded, "okay. That ones yours. Got it." She winked at Belle who just glared back at her. "Well, fine." She crossed her arms over her chest and looked sour. "If I'm not here to be entertained, why am I here?"

Belle threw her hands up, shouting at her, "are you serious? Look at her!" She gestured at the sick siren. "She's sick, or something. I assumed you would have enough sense to be able to help her."

The siren raised her brows and looked at Belle smugly, "and what, precisely would I get out of helping her?"

"She's you. Literally, you're the same person from different timelines. Helping her is helping yourself, and I'm sure you just love doing that." Belle cocked her head.

Shrugging nonchalantly, the siren began picking at her nails, "well, not really. I am I and she is she. She is also far stronger than I am. I can't help her anyway. I would need more power, and I'm fairly certain I'm not going to do whatever she did to get it. The black around her runes and the wings I'm sure she has to match her minions tells me she did something truly horrid."

Ruby squeezed her sirens hand before speaking, "she did do something pretty terrible, but for a very good reason, and we brought her back from the darkness. How can you help her without getting more power?"

Shaking her head, the siren seemed to be ready to leave, "I can't. She looks and feels like her own magic attacked her… she probably used way too much of it and in order to undo that, I would need to pull magic out of her, which I can't do because she has a shit load higher capacity than me."

Belle looked thoughtful and then shouted, "what about the dark ones magic? If you took the dark ones magic would that be enough?"

The siren smiled and look Belle up and down again, making Belle shift uncomfortably. "Well, aren't you a bright little star? I think that could do it, actually. But," the siren gestured around herself, "there isn't a dark one here, and I can't leave the water."

The sick siren suddenly came to life again and snapped her fingers, there was a flash and the brunette baby popped into Lorelei's arms. On top of the sleeping infant was the dark ones dagger, complete with the words 'Regina Mills' on the blade.

Ruby stared at the baby in her sirens arms, "I didn't even consider that Regina was still the dark one…" She turned at the sounds of angry shouts coming towards the ship. She tugged on Lorelei's shirt a little, "ah, yeah. So Cora is gonna be super pissed you stole her baby… maybe like, a barrier to keep them out for a minute?"

Lorelei smiled and waved her hand and everyone on the shore stopped as a silvery barrier rose between them and the ship.

The new Lorelei was trying to see past the ship rail, apparently curious at the sound of Cora shouting. Ruby snapped her fingers in the new sirens face, "Hey. You got the dark one. Take the power, do not harm or even wake up the baby."

The siren smirked at her but turned to the baby. She put a hand on the dagger and all her runes started glowing brightly. All at once there was a blinding flash of black and silver lightening. When the light was gone, everything looked the same. The only difference was the dagger was gone, and the baby looked less pale.

The new Lorelei was flexing her muscles at Belle who looked interested, but not amused. Ruby chuckled at them. Belle was interested in the event itself, not the siren.

Ruby cleared her throat, "okay. Yes, you're very impressive, now please, fix her."

The siren turned to look at Ruby and raised her brows, "you still haven't offered me anything for fixing her…"

Belle shouted before Ruby could, "what do you mean we haven't given you anything? We just handed you all the dark one's power!"

Lorelei shrugged, "well, actually, I was nice enough to remove the dark one from this world and that poor baby. So, you're welcome. Power was never what I wanted anyway."

Ruby was about to tear this irritating version of her girlfriend apart, but her Lorelei patted her shoulder and released her grip on her hand. She went and stood in front of her duplicate who watched her suspiciously. After a few minutes, the sick woman spoke softly not to her twin, but turned to say to Belle instead, "she wants freedom, Belle. That's what I wanted, so that is what she wants."

Belle narrowed her eyes, "if you heal her, you expect us to get you out of the underworld?"

The new siren nodded enthusiastically, "yes! Absolutely yes! But, I don't know how!"

Ruby said, "we know how. We will get you onto land, into the living world, but first, you heal her."

The new siren started pacing the deck, tapping her chin with a finger. Apparently, they shared this same annoying habit. Ruby's Lorelei handed the baby Regina to Ruby as she watched her other self pace. Before long, both sirens were pacing and tapping. The sick one was obviously lost in her daze, simply mimicking her other self. When the shinier one stopped she watched the sick siren go another lap before reaching out and grabbing her arm, stopping her. "Right, so that's actually pretty annoying… good to know." Turning to Belle and Ruby, she simply said, "Deal."

Before any more time wasting, the new siren grabbed her ill twin by the throat and pushed her into the wall of the ships cabin. Ruby immediately stepped to defend her siren, but Belle grabbed her arm and shook her head. For a few moments, it looked like the weaker siren would get blasted, but then a silver light started to shine from the healthier of the two. The light wrapped around her body and then her arms, slowly snaking it's way to the cloudy white eyes.

The light seeped into the sirens eyes and filled them with the bright light. And then, they were gone. The golden sirens, and the queens.

Ruby stared around wildly, searching, feeling and looking. They were gone. The people on the beach rushed forward, the barrier had been taken down. With everyone on the ship, Cora took the baby again and as everyone started asking questions, Ruby ignored them and grabbed Henry, "Where is she?!"

Henry shook his head, "I don't know, I'm sorry. I haven't felt anything since we've been here and the heart lines flicker in and out."

Ruby released him and went to stare out to the sea.

…

So, I just realized I hadn't stated what the piano song was that I was imagining! My bad, it is River Flows in You, performed by Yiruma.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Everyone on the ship was trying to catch up on the events that they had just gone through. Cora was still angrily muttering about the sirens stealing her baby, Red and Snow were still gushing over Emma and trying to find a way to handle becoming queens. For the most part, Henry listened to Belle and Ruby explain what had happened.

Cora frowned at the baby in her arms, "she was still the dark one? How does that even work? Would she have aged? Would she have been able to use magic?"

Belle shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Cora, please. We don't know those answers. All we can tell you is that Regina is no longer the dark one. When the sirens come back, you should probably say thank you." Cora gave Belle a look that made her blush, thinking of just how she would like to thank Lorelei.

Ruby turned away, looking to the ocean again. She would come back, she had to. Henry took Ruby's hand and tried to comfort her. They both stared off across the water, waiting.

After about an hour, everyone had calmed down. They made their way to the beach again, making a fire and magicking up some breakfast. The sun was just coming up now. Ruby eventually let Regina talk her into leaving the ship to get something to eat.

Regina pushed her down onto a log, "Ruby, standing watch on the ocean won't bring her back sooner, I'm sorry. You need to eat, and rest."

Snow nodded at her sadly, soothing her restless baby. "We are going to go back to the castle… our castle, I guess."

Red gestured at the babies, "they should probably be inside. We will come back every so often to check on you all."

Cora huffed, "you mean I will be coming back. As far as I recall, you two have no magic at all."

Red raised a brow at her, "look, I may not be an all powerful witch, but I am a werewolf. I can run faster than you can run your mouth."

Cora looked ready to demonstrate her magic for Red, but Snow interrupted them both, "you will take turns coming back. You will also learn to live together. We're a family now…" She beamed at the blonde baby who smiled back at her. "Now, Cora, if you would be so kind as to take us all back to the castle…"

Cora smiled at her and looked at the grown Regina, "we will be back, dear."

Once they had left in a cloud of magic, Emma and Regina settled down with Ruby and Henry to await the sirens return. Henry looked around and found Belle just coming down from the ship. He waved her over and gave her a plate of food. "Thank you. I haven't seen anything out there. I'm sorry Ruby."

Ruby just nodded and picked at her own food. They sat and talked for another hour. Cora came back once, and left again. Red came back and sat for a little while, but then she left too. The hours slipped by until it was somewhere around noon. Red and Cora had been coming back periodically, but there had been no changes.

Red had just come again when it was just after noon and everyone had taken to wandering around the beach, there was an explosion far out to sea. There was a cloud of fire that ballooned on the horizon. Everyone instantly came together at the shoreline to stare at it. There was no sound, presumably being too far away. As everyone stared, Belle broke the silence. "Uh, guys, I think we should do… something…" She was pointing at the shoreline.

Everyone looked down and watched as the water receded at an alarming rate. The ship was dropped onto the wet sand where the water had been before. "Where's the water going Gina?" Emma asked.

Regina stared at the rapidly vanishing water, "That explosion… I think it's making a sort of tidal wave."

All at once, they were hit with a blast wave that knocked them all to the ground. It was accompanied by a roar that was deafening. Regina helped Emma stand again, "Emma we need to get back to the castle, I have no idea how big this wave is going to be, but I don't want to be here for it."

Emma nodded and when everyone was together she waved her hand to poof them away. Nothing happened, "Regina, I can't!"

Regina tried her own magic, but nothing happened with hers either, "shit! That wave must have been from the sirens, it obviously blocked out magic."

Ruby stared out, hopeful to see Lorelei, but there was nothing there. "I don't see her…"

Regina made everyone stand close to her, putting Henry behind her. "Everyone can swim right?"

Red looked terrified, "What? No! I can't swim!"

Ruby stared at her, "Granny didn't teach you to swim?"

Red shook her head, "no, actually, she was going to but when we got to the lake, there was a weird thing in the water that we really didn't want to piss off."

Ruby shrugged, "well she taught me. I'm stronger than anyone else, hold on to me. Don't let go." Red clung tightly to Ruby, looking more pale and terrified as they watched a far off wave beginning to head towards them at a very alarming rate.

"Regina, should we run?" Emma was breathing heavily as she made sure she had a very good grip on Henry, Regina had a similar grip on his other arm.

Shaking her head, Regina tried to sound unafraid as she watched the wave reach an inconceivable height. "We couldn't possibly outrun that."

They all watched and tried to make sure the grips on each other were firm. The wave towered over them and everyone took as deep a breath as they could.

Ruby opened her eyes as she let out her held breath. She wasn't under water, or dead. She looked up and there was water rushing past, carrying all sorts of bits and pieces of things from the ocean with it. But it didn't touch them. She reached out cautiously and before her hand touched the water, it hit a barrier that shimmered silver at her touch. She released Red and grinned wildly. "It's Lorelei! Look!" She showed everyone the silver barrier and they all waited for the wave to stop. Eventually, the water flow began reversing. It flowed outwards again, dragging trees and a few small animals with it. When the water was gone finally, Ruby reached out again, the barrier was gone, apparently with the wave.

They all breathed a little easier, being dry, alive and free of a watery bubble. Ruby looked around excitedly, immediately spotting her Lorelei, wings spread wide, carrying her duplicate over her shoulder fireman style. Ruby rushed towards her as a sob ripped itself out of her chest. When Ruby was within a few paces, Lorelei carelessly tossed her counterpart onto the sand and wrapped her arms tightly around Ruby instead.

Ruby held onto her like she might disappear if she ever let go. When she did finally pull back to look her in the eye, Lorelei leaned in to kiss her and Ruby jumped back, holding up a finger. "Hold on, how do I know for sure that you are you and not the other you?"

Lorelei rolled her eyes, "well, I have wings," She waved her wings a bit before continuing, "and I have this lovely black trim everywhere…"

Ruby looked at the siren on the ground suspiciously, "yeah, ok, but what if the other siren stole my Lorelei's powers… or some shit?"

Dropping her arms and folding her wings against her back, Lorelei smiled sweetly at Ruby, "that's pretty fair reasoning I suppose. Considering she attempted to do exactly that, I actually appreciate the verification process." Pulling a frown, Lorelei thought for a few moments. She then lit up with a bright smile and wrapped her arms slowly around Ruby again, looking her in the eye and saying softly, "what if I told you, I love you. Not only do I love you, Ruby, but you are my soulmate. Look…" Lorelei put her hand over Ruby's eyes and when she removed it again, Ruby gasped, tears coming to her eyes.

"I believe you…" Ruby stared at the silvery rope connecting her heart to the sirens. She asked curiously, "where do these others go?"

Lorelei cleared her throat and waved away the siren sight she gave Ruby, "we don't talk about that. Don't abuse the power darling. If you don't believe me now, I will start telling you loudly about the time we snuck into Regina's office and proceeded to…"

Ruby giggled and pulled her siren in for a deep kiss that she desperately missed feeling, and to shut her up. Lorelei held her tightly, pressing their bodies together. She wrapped her wings around them and proceeded to ease her hands up Ruby's shirt, needing to feel the womans skin again.

Henry coughed loudly, pulling Ruby out of the trance she had been in. She noticed the secluded little fort Lorelei had created and giggled some more, giving her siren another quick kiss before tapping the wings. Lorelei let her wings vanish and still held on to Ruby.

Regina stepped forward, a small smile on her face, even with the fact that everything in her office likely needed disposing of, she was happy for them. "Okay, well I'm glad we have the correct siren, but what about the other one?" She gestured at the siren on the sand, still out cold.

Lorelei groaned loudly, finally releasing Ruby. She went over to the other and grabbed her by the shirt, shaking her violently. "Wakey wakey you little snakey!" She continued shaking her until the shinier woman opened her eyes and started swinging at the other. Lorelei released to fall back on the sand again. "There you are! We have been waiting for you to wake up so we could chat my sexy little friend!"

The other siren glared at Lorelei and stood on shaky legs, "well, you lovely creature, I just wanted a small piece of what you have. You really can't blame me, I'm certain you would have done the same." Lorelei nodded and shrugged a bit. "Right, well. You won, and technically I healed you so… you know, you're welcome." She finished by winking playfully at Lorelei.

Lorelei raised a brow at her, but then shrugged and smiled at her, extending a hand to shake. The other siren nodded and took her hand, only to end up face down in the sand with Lorelei's knee holding her down painfully. "Right, well thank you so very much. Now, how about you give me that little charm upon your well rounded breast and we shall call it even?"

The other siren shook her head and mumbled something nasty into the sand. Lorelei pushed the other down with more force and magic, causing the shinier siren to howl in pain. "Lorelei, what are you doing?!" Emma had run up, trying to stop her.

Lorelei glanced at the blonde, rolling her eyes, "absolutely none of your business woman. Go away now, I prefer to molest myself in private."

Ruby and Red both giggled and Ruby mumbled something about masturbating. Regina bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing also. Emma didn't look amused, but she knew she really couldn't do anything, so she just backed away to stand with Henry who looked concerned. Lorelei pushed at the other siren again, and then said, "pretty please my little sugar cake? I would hate to break your prefect little spine."

Nodding, red faced and in pain, the other siren relented. Lorelei helped her stand on shaky legs and the other siren slowly rolled her eyes, then pulled a tiny silver charm off her chest. Lorelei smiled brightly and bounced the charm on her palm, "there now, wasn't so hard was it?"

Rubbing her back the other siren glared at her, "why you want it anyway? Not like it'll do anything for you."

Lorelei walked over to Red and after the wolf quit trying to get away from her, she leaned in and whispered something to her. Ruby was the only other one who could hear what she said and she frowned curiously.

Red looked the siren up and down and then looked to Ruby for guidance. Ruby nodded so Red just shook her head and took off in wolf form towards the castle. Ruby approached Lorelei, "what exactly…?"

She didn't get to finish her question because her rather inappropriate girlfriend decided to pull her in for a very invasive and very thorough kiss. Lorelei broke away to look her in the eye as Ruby tried to gather her spinning mind again. "My dear Ruby, no questions that might alert our little friend please." Lorelei smiled, smacked her backside playfully and shoved the other siren down to sit on a tree that had been deposited by the wave. "Now my gorgeous doppelganger, I am going to teach you a valuable lesson in what happens when someone tries to steal my magic!"

The other siren leaned away from her and narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "what could you possibly do with that charm?"

Lorelei beamed at her lovingly, stroking the shinier womans hair gently, "oh, my sweet little, baby version of me. You are so cute!" Lorelei held the charm up and it began to glow brightly, looking as if it was being super heated. The other Lorelei just stared at her like she was completely insane. When the charm shot a few sparks and then returned to it's natural state of shine, she looked at her weaker half expectantly. However, the other just stared blankly, causing Lorelei to roll her eyes so hard they quite nearly fell out. "Oh my god, you are so dense. Do you realize any part of what I just did?" The other shook her head. "Okay… well you see that boy over there?" Lorelei pointed to Henry. The other siren nodded dismissively. "Right, well he doesn't look like much yeah? Okay, but on his palm is branded my charm. I have a violin, you see, much prettier." Ruby looked closely at the charm in Lorelei's hand, realizing it wasn't a violin, it was a harp. "Anyway, somehow, my magic essence so to speak, or more accurately, MY essence now is connected to him. He believes in me, stupid thing that he is. With that connection, he knows what I am feeling! Well…" Lorelei waved her own dismissal towards Henry, "he can feel it, but he is a mortal boy, so he can't really decipher such things. Anyway! Now, whoever I smack your charm onto, will get that, plus a bonus! They will be able to track you, like a little silver GPS." Lorelei looked so proud, but the other siren look mortified.

"Who the fuck do you think you're going to stick that on then?" The other siren was pale and looked completely horrified.

Lorelei opened her mouth but was interrupted by Cora poofing just a few feet away, "what is going on down here? That wave only fell a hundred feet short of the castle itself!" Cora looked frantically around, accounting for everyone, before her eyes landed on the sirens. She glanced at Ruby's Lorelei, but lingered appraisingly upon the other siren.

The other Lorelei however was wide eyed and looked very close to hysterics. She stared down at her chest and started swatting some invisible thing frantically. Lorelei laughed and went to Cora, bowing nicely to her. "My dear Cora, I apologize for not consenting to your advances before, but you see, I have a soul mate already." She cleared her throat, "my counterpart, however, does not…" She winked at Cora before flashing the charm in her hand onto Cora's chest where it flared brightly before settling in like a silver tattoo.

Cora gasped and jumped back, frowning down at the new addition. The other siren was snapping her fingers and looking to be very irritated. "No, I… absolutely not. This is ridiculous! You," she pointed at Ruby's Lorelei, "are a bitch! Just because you went and got roped into some committed bullshit doesn't mean I will!"

Lorelei went to the siren, sighing deeply, "what is wrong with you? Come now, she is a lovely woman and I know from personal experience with her other worldly counterpart that she is perfectly capable of satisfying all of your needs. I assure you, you'll be perfectly happy."

The other siren glared at Cora, "I usually attend to a younger sort of company, no offense."

Cora glared at her and rolled her eyes as she waved a hand over herself. When the smoke cleared, there stood a very young version of Cora Mills, likely close to 18. Both sirens cocked their heads at this new rendition of the woman. Ruby kicked a small rock at her siren who promptly blushed and quit ogling the woman before them. "Well… I mean, obviously I'm not the settle down sort. But, I mean…" she couldn't seem to stop staring at this woman. "Well, ok, now you're quite lovely and I wouldn't mind a taste," Regina groaned and along with a grimacing Emma, headed off towards the water. Belle was giggling, enjoying the show. "But, then again, you things tend to age, rather quickly I might add. Before long you'll be dead, and my other self has been kind enough to release me from the underworld, so I really don't want to go back."

Cora smiled and approached her new interest, "actually dear, there is a magical stasis here. I won't age. No one except the babies age, and they will stop too eventually."

The siren took on an interested look, "babies?"

Ruby's Lorelei sort of pulled a sour face, but the other Lorelei looked rather curious. Cora smiled at the shiner version, "yes, I have a baby. Snow White has a baby too, there are two little princesses to care for."

Taking Cora's hand firmly in her own, the siren smiled at her, "well then, we should go take care of them."

Cora had enough time to wave goodbye to everyone before they vanished in a streak of silver.


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Everyone turned to Lorelei, ready to go home finally. The siren was busy staring down Ruby's shirt. After she noticed the attention, Ruby closed her cloak, which brought Lorelei back to the present.

"Lorelei, I know it's difficult for you, but can you try to pay attention to the world around you for a few moments?" Regina asked in a sarcastically sweet voice. "I, for one, have been locked in a dungeon for some time and desperately need a bath."

Emma nodded and attempted to untangle some of her blonde hair, "yeah, I agree. Since I'm pretty sure the enchanted forest doesn't have my brand of conditioner, I'd like to take a bath back in Storybrooke."

The siren raised her brows and gestured at the water, "be my guest, but mind the Kraken. He gets cranky when people swim through his waters."

Henry laughed a bit, "come on Lorelei, we just want to go home. My moms get cranky when they have to rough it for a few days."

Regina and Emma both glared at him and he shrugged and turned away, still smiling. "I can't wait for a bath either, but I am also looking forward to researching the different worlds theories. I wonder if anyone else has actually been to them?" Belle seemed distracted by her own thoughts.

Ruby took Lorelei's hand and told her quietly, "I'm in need of a bath also. If we get a move on, maybe I will let you help…?"

The siren pretended to consider for a moment before smiling and gesturing again to the water. A little ways out to sea, the water started roiling and a great monstrosity of a shipwreck was pulled up to the surface. Silver swirls of magic swooped around it and at the shoreline, building a dock for them to board the ship with. Once it was all done, the travelers boarded their ride home.

Everyone stood ready to go. After a few minutes of just standing there, Emma asked, "sooo… where's the sirens?"

Lorelei glanced at her, "they're coming. They got rather roughly undone during the struggle between myself and… well myself. It takes a while for them to be remade and then they have to get to this world from our Underworld. It will take a while to find the right world, this time they do not have me to guide them. Basically, hit and miss til they find this place again."

Regina threw her hands up, "great. So how long could we be stuck in this place?"

Lorelei shrugged and sat down on a moldy bench. "No idea. Could be minutes, could be years. I assume there are an inconceivable number of worlds to look through."

Belle sat on a different moldy bench, "I don't understand. Why do you need them to take us home? Can't you just do it yourself?"

Shaking her head, Lorelei answered, "the problem is that I can't find my way back to our world. When we came here, I followed a sort of beacon from Ruby and Henry. Now, I have no path to follow."

Zelena, who had remained unusually quiet for quite some time spoke up, "but they found me and brought me here, how did they do it?"

"Well, they left a trail from Storybrooke to here, they followed it back, got you, then followed it back here again. Since they were undone, so was the trail. When they find us again, they will have left a trail from there to here again." Lorelei seemed uninterested in all of this.

Ruby sat beside her, hoping the bench would hold. "Okay, so we just have to wait?" the siren nodded. "Okay, well then… should we wait here or do you think we could maybe go back to the castle, take a bath and just breath for awhile?"

Everyone looked hopeful at this prospect, except Zelena. "Well, why don't you all go and I will wait here."

Lorelei shook her head, "no one needs to stay here, I will know when they arrive in this land."

Zelena was wringing her hands nervously, Regina noticed and held them in her own, whispering to her, "Zelena, it's okay. If you don't want to see Cora, you don't have to."

Zelena hugged Regina and smiled at her, "thank you. I don't really want to…"

Regina nodded in understanding and released her, taking Emma's hand and then Henry's. They left in a puff of purple smoke. Ruby took Belle's hand and then Lorelei's and they too vanished. Zelena sighed in relief and went back to the land, magicking up a comfortable chair to wait in.

…..

They arrived in the main hall of the castle to the strange sight of the other Lorelei walking towards them, holding a dark haired baby and making cooing noises at it. Cora followed close behind, smiling brightly. After a surprised gasp, Cora welcomed them in happily. "Of course you can stay with us until you're able to leave! I will have rooms made up for all of you." She glanced at the siren holding her baby and said quietly, "it seems she has a real love for babies! She will be a wonderful second mommy… well, fourth mommy I guess. Red and Snow are just as in love with Regina as they are with Emma."

Regina made a disgusted face, "mother, please do not let that creature raise me."

Emma snorted a laugh, "hey, at least if she raises you she won't be hitting on you all the time." Emma only laughed more when Regina slapped her arm.

The other siren looked up from the baby finally and smiled at grown Regina, "why would I ever want you when I can have your mother? Besides, you don't smile nearly enough. No worries though, I will make this version of you far happier. She will smile all the time when she grows up!"

Regina rolled her eyes, and tried to look mad, but Emma pulled her into a hug because she knew how wonderful that sounded to her. Regina could pretend, but she really was happy that at least in this world, she would grow up with an abundance of love and attention. There wouldn't be an evil queen this time. "Just make sure Emma grows up happy too."

The siren seemed to think for a minute and then vanished, with the baby. Cora let out an exhausted groan, "do you know how many times I have had to track her down with my child already? I'm quite thankful for this charm you gave me dear." Cora smiled at Lorelei before poofing away.

A castle servant found them shortly after and led them to their rooms. Each chamber was immaculate and had a private bathing room attached. Regina and Emma took the first one, racing to the bathroom excitedly. Ruby and Lorelei took the second and as the door closed behind them Belle could hear Ruby angrily telling Lorelei that a bath was in fact necessary. Belle was about to close her own door when she glanced at Henry, looking a bit sad.

"Henry, what's wrong?"

Shrugging, he answered, "nothing really. I'm just not really used to being so separated from everyone. This castle is huge, and I assume everyone will be occupied with what I am pretending is just bathing, for a while."

Belle thought for a moment and then asked the servant, "are any of the rooms close by joint rooms? I mean, two chambers in one?"

The servant nodded, "yes Lady. I have a room with two bedchambers, but a joined sitting room. There are two bathing rooms also, but it is not as grand as these single guest rooms Lady."

Belle nodded and closed the door she had been about to enter, "we will share that chamber then."

Henry smiled at her, "really?"

Belle smiled back and nudged his shoulder playfully, "yes, really. I'm alone here too you know. At least we can keep each other company while everyone else is… washing and sleeping." She giggled at the way his face turned red. They followed the servant down the hall a bit until they found their room.

Henry stared around the massive chamber in awe, "this isn't as grand? Are the single rooms furnished with like gold couches or something?"

Belle laughed at his naivety, "this isn't the best, as far as the evil queen provided. Of course, by normal standards, this room would be fit for a king."

They split into their private areas and immediately went to wash. After a few awkward moments of trying to get a servant to leave him alone to bathe, Henry finally let the man run his bath and prepare his new clothes as well as take his old ones. He did however refuse adamantly to the man helping him dress. He beat Belle back to the sitting room they shared by about an hour. He couldn't imagine what took her so long, his bath took longer to run than to actually use.

Eventually, Belle did emerge, looking perfect and smelling like roses. She sat across from him and they talked about everything that had happened until the dinner bell rang through the castle.

….


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Emma beat Regina to the bathing room, but stopped halfway through her undressing when two women stood from a bench along the wall. One woman began messing with the taps on the tub, the other made like she was going to help Emma strip. Emma pulled her shirt back down and fended off the womans hands, "woah, hey! No no. I don't know what you think you're doing but if it involves you taking my clothes off, I'm officially informing you of a change of plans lady!"

The servant frowned deeply at Emma, confusion being very plain on her face. "Lady Emma… I have been helping you bathe for nearly ten years… have I displeased you in some way?"

Emma stared at her, "Lady Emma? How about just Emma? Oh, wait. You think I'm… " Emma finally put the pieces together and tried to explain the situation but she couldn't seem to form actual words.

Regina had been watching the exchange from the doorway, finding it amusing, but she decided to interrupt before Emma hurt herself. "Excuse me ladies…" The two servant women went wide eyed with shock and immediately hit the floor hastily apologizing to 'the queen'. Regina sighed and rolled her eyes, "I am not the evil queen. The queen you knew is no more. She has been turned into a baby. If you don't believe me, go ask Cora." The servants looked outright panicked. "Seriously, I am Regina Mills and this is Emma Swan… from another world…" The servants only looked more stressed as she tried to explain. Looking at the steaming bathtub and desperately wanting to be in it, Regina gave up. "Okay, get out. Do not disturb us again unless it is an emergency." The two women looked at her, terrified and confused. So Regina held her hand out and a fireball appeared in her palm, "out. Now." The two women ran out the chambers at record speed.

Emma laughed as she finished stripping off her filthy clothes. "How very diplomatic of you."

Regina sighed again and removed her own ruined clothing. "Well, I did try to speak to them. Unfortunately, the servants here are too terrified of the evil queen to listen to actual words. Power and strength are the language they have been taught to understand."

Emma sat back in the massive tub, making room for Regina to sit in front of her, between her legs. They both moaned and sighed for awhile, enjoying the hot water. Eventually, Emma grabbed the sponge and soaps and started washing Regina's backside. She massaged her shoulders with the perfumed suds and then carefully washed her hair as well. After Regina was squeaky clean, they switched positions and Regina returned the washing massage for Emma.

Emma tried repeatedly to turn their bath into far more, but Regina managed to hold her off. "Regina, seriously started to take this personal."

Regina smirked at her and removed herself from the bath tub. She grabbed a towel and held one out for Emma to take. "I am not trying to offend you, but I have to be the adult here it seems. It has been far too long since we have bathed and slept, not to mention eaten properly. Plenty of time remains to have our fill of each other, for now however, we need to take care of ourselves."

Emma frowned at her and dried off quickly, following Regina out to the main chamber. Emma eyed the clothing laid out for them. There was an elegant and over decorated gown that came with about a hundred different pieces, and was obviously meant for the brunette. The breeches and tunic of heavy dark material must be for her. Regina reached for some piece of her gown, but all the clothing vanished in a puff of Emma's magic. Smiling triumphantly as Regina pursed her lips in disapproval, Emma dropped her towel and assisted the other woman to the bed, kissing her deeply.

Unable to control her own breathing at this point, Regina finally smiled as she was persuaded onto the bedspread. "I just told you…"

Emma cut her off with a nip to her neck, just below the ear, causing the woman to gasp instead of reprimand. "If you really don't want to… I will stop." Emma soothed her bite with a kiss and started to pull away as if she would stop now.

Regina grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and whispered in her dangerous tone, "don't you dare stop now, Miss Swan."

Grinning widely, Emma didn't stop. It wasn't until they heard the dinner bell ring out that they finally washed up in the bathing room before rushing into clothes to go find dinner.

…

Henry and Belle arrived at the dining hall as Snow and Red walked in with little Emma happily cooing in Red's arms. They all sat and talked about the worldly differences for a few minutes until Cora stormed into the hall looking like she had just been through a hurricane. She flopped into a chair and proceeded to drain a goblet of wine before looking around at everyone.

"Uhm, Cora… where's Regina?" Snow asked quietly.

Cora rolled her eyes, "probably tangled up with her blonde lover."

Henry snorted and blushed as Snow use more precise language, "I meant the baby Regina. I know where the grown one is. The whole castle heard what they are up to…"

"Jealous?" Snow snapped her mouth shut with a click and Regina gave her a smug glare. Taking her seat with Emma next to her, Regina finally smiled, "sorry, old habits and all that dear."

Cora had finished another glass of wine but seemed to collect herself enough to answer, "oh, my Regina is with Rory."

Everyone looked at each other, obviously confused. Henry asked, "who is Rory?"

Cora raised her brows at him and smiled brightly, "oh, that's what I named my siren. I think it would get confusing calling them both Lorelei."

Henry nodded, "and she doesn't mind?"

"Well of course I damn well mind. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard… Rory. Ridiculous. I told her to call me master, or queen, or Fred. Any damn thing but Rory." The siren practically growled at Cora as she sat next to her, holding the baby close to herself.

Cora gently took the baby from her now named Rory and smiled at her, "well I like it. You can be Lorelei after she leaves."

"And why precisely can't I keep my name and she can be Rory? This is my world after all."

"Because she's stronger and can put you in a choke hold?" Belle said politely, sipping her own wine.

Rolling her eyes, Rory drank her glass in two swallows. "Well, at least I came to dinner."

Henry frowned as he looked around, "I wonder where Ruby and her are anyway? Should I go get them?"

Regina grimaced, "absolutely not. They can last longer without food, let them have their time. I don't need you anymore traumatized than you already are, thank you very much."

Belle leaned closer to Henry and whispered, "why would you even suggest such a thing? You must have knotted your magic connection."

Henry shook his head and whispered back, "I haven't. That's what's weird. She feels calm and, I don't know… just calm and sort of warm?"

Belle smiled at him and patted his leg, "she's fine Henry. In fact, I think what you're feeling is contentment. They've been through a lot, it must be nice to just sort of be with each other and relax."

Shrugging, Henry sat up straight as the servants started bringing out food. Rory and Cora passed Regina back and forth as they ate. Snow held Emma in one arm and ate with the other as Red smiled at them both and ate her own food.

Emma was eating quickly, obviously eager to be done, but Regina was taking her time and enjoying the food. This of course caused Emma to be done and staring at Regina who was making a show of enjoying every bite. Eventually Emma took to chatting with Snow and Red, leaving Regina to finish her meal in peace.

…

As soon as the chamber door closed, Lorelei was trying to pull Ruby towards her, but Ruby pulled herself free and demanded they wash first. In a pout, Lorelei pretended she wasn't going to follow, until Ruby dropped the last of her clothing and spoke to someone in the bathing chamber. In a flash, the siren was holding a small woman by the arm and pushing her out of the chamber.

Ruby laughed and eased into a nice hot bath. "She is just the servant Lorelei. I'm sure she has seen far more attractive women than me naked here."

Dropping her own clothing to the floor, Lorelei dropped into the tub at the opposite end. "There are no women more attractive than you. Trust me, I have seen many. You are definitely the best."

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Ruby watched the siren get comfortable in the tub. "I'm going to turn that into just a compliment and not a reminder of how many women you've seen." Lorelei smiled at her and started rubbing soap into a cloth. Ruby was about to ask for the soap for herself, but the siren surprised her again by starting to wash her feet and up her legs, so she just sat back and enjoyed the feeling of being taken care of.

Once she had washed what she could reach, the siren motioned for Ruby to come sit with her. She waited until Ruby was in between her thighs and proceeded to gently wash all that hair. She took her time, admiring the silky tassels in her hands. This was definitely her favorite part of the woman. She rinsed all of the softly scented soap out of her hair and pulled Ruby back to lean against her chest. She smiled as she looked down and saw Ruby breathing easily, with her eyes closed. "Feel better?"

Ruby nodded and turned just enough to give Lorelei a soft kiss. "I do. Thank you. Do I get to wash you now?" The other woman frowned and shook her head. Ruby laughed quietly and relaxed against her chest again. The water was cooling, but it was amazing to just be close to this woman. "I didn't think so."

Lorelei wrapped her arms around Ruby and kissed her head before sighing, "I think it is time to get out. You're taking on the appearance of a prune. A sexy prune, but still… a prune."

Ruby laughed and made her way from the tub, drying off and then laying on the soft blankets of the bed. She watched as Lorelei dried herself off and looked around the room quietly. The nakedness apparently didn't phase her at all as she wandered the room and touched a few books on the shelf. After a few more minutes of observing, Lorelei turned to look at Ruby watching her, "I do love you, Ruby."

Ruby smiled and patted the bed beside her, waiting for the siren to join her on the blankets. She kissed her deeply and pulled her close to her body, feeding her intense need to be close to her. "I love you too Lorelei."

They laid in silence together for quite some time, just feeling one another before Lorelei spoke, "will you marry me then?"

Ruby pulled her head back enough to look at her evenly and nodded lightly, "I would like that."

Lorelei smiled and kissed her forehead. Ruby frowned at her slightly, but Lorelei shook her head, obviously not feeling like a chat. So, even after they heard the dinner bell ring, they simply held each other and didn't say another word.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

It had been two days since they had been forced to stay in this other realm. Regina and Emma had actually become rather comfortable. It wasn't very often they got to relax and simply exist together. There were no monsters or threats bearing down on them here, just normal things to think about. Henry and Belle spent plenty of time together in the library, pouring through books they wouldn't find in Storybrooke. Ruby and Lorelei mostly ran off to the village and had an all out party most nights.

Cora was trying to pull Snow and Red into their new roles as queens, but although Snow had a decent grip on politics, Red was far from royalty. If it wasn't for Snow guiding her and patiently teaching her about the system, Red would likely have bolted on day one.

Rory seemed to be flashing in and out of everybody's life hourly. She spent plenty of time having fun with Ruby and Lorelei, but she also spent a great deal of time with Cora and the infants. It wasn't until the late evening of the second day that Rory decided to take a shot at Belle again.

Henry had retired for the night, apparently he was getting random waves of whatever Lorelei was doing in the taverns and he decided to go to bed before it overwhelmed him. Belle was studying her notes from the runes on Lorelei again, still trying to make sense of it all. "How is someone so beautiful always alone?"

Belle jumped at the sudden voice by her ear and nearly fell out of her chair before Rory caught her and sat her back down, smiling all to sweetly. "Ugh, Rory. Really? Can't you walk in a room like a normal person?"

"Actually, my little bookworm, I did."

Belle eyed her suspiciously but shook her head and turned back to her writings, "well then try announcing yourself, and respecting personal boundaries."

Rory sat in a chair very close to Belle and leaned her head on her hand as she put her elbow on top of Belle's notebook. "Are you not bored? Wouldn't just a little excitement do you some good?"

Pushing the sirens arm off the table, Belle sighed at her, "I am not bored. I am trying to decipher these runes." Glancing at Rory, she added, "are yours the same as hers?"

Grinning widely, Rory spread her arms wide, "why don't you see for yourself, my dear?"

Belle bit her lip, she was trying to decide if it was worth the trouble to see just a few of them to compare… "can't you just be a decent person and show me a few? I mean, without the flirting?"

Rory dropped her arms but still smiled at her, "do you really mean to tell me you're not interested in me?"

Belle sighed, "I am not interested in you romantically. Aren't you in a relationship with Cora?"

Rory grimaced hard and seemed to deflate a bit at Belle's question. "I am not in a relationship with anybody. I am a free being who refuses to be caged like an animal in some sort of one on one existence."

Belle cocked a brow at her, "you love her."

Rory looked offended, "how dare you?!"

"Why is it that hard to admit? Just let yourself be in love with her and move on. Lorelei admitted she loves Ruby and they are far happier for it."

Rory seemed to consider for a moment and then leaned in closer to Belle, "would you like to play a game?" Belle shook her head, but Rory pressed closer, putting a finger and Belle's notebook. "For the price of one, let's say, ten second kiss, I will tell you exactly what trans-essence delivery is all about."

Belle gasped and grabbed Rory's arm in excitement, "you know what it is?" Rory nodded. "How do you know if Lorelei doesn't?"

Rory shrugged and licked her lips, she had her now. "We look and act alike my dear but we are not the same person. She knows things I do not, and vice versa. Do you want to play or not?"

…..

Regina was sitting at the table used for royal discussion with Emma, Cora and Red. Snow had gone to check on the babies while everyone tried to figure out the trade routes the evil queen had set up. It was confusing and muddled and needed to be straightened out immediately. They were quietly talking when Belle burst through the doors and immediately stared down Cora.

"Cora! I demand that you control your little girlfriend or I am going to kill her myself!" Belle shouted angrily at the woman who sat looking startled.

Rory threw herself through the door just behind Belle and held her hands up in defense while trying to push Belle back out, "hey, sorry for interrupting, never mind this crazy thing here! She just had a bit too much to drink!"

Belle slapped Rory right across the face and shoved past her to stare at Cora directly, "she has been trying rather aggressively to get me in her bed for the past hour. I have not been drinking, I have been working on something very important and she will not leave me alone. I demand you contain her."

Cora stood then, looking angrily at Rory, "what is wrong with you? I told you that you are not allowed other partners!"

Rory glared back at her, "I will do as I damn well please, and by the way, little miss innocent here agreed to kiss me and never paid up, even after I delivered good on my word!"

Cora stared back to Belle who was blushing now, "I only agreed to kiss you if you told me about trans-essence delivery! I had no intentions of actually following through with it!"

Rory pointed excitedly, "ah see? She agreed, we made a deal and she broke it!"

Cora growled and snatched Rory up by an arm angrily muttering at her while she drug her out of the room.

All eyes turned to Belle then. "What? She knew all about it! I finally have the answers for Lorelei's runes! I needed that siren off my back so I can find Lorelei and tell her."

Regina shook her head, "Belle, did you actually make a deal with Rory?" Belled blushed and nodded. "Well, for starters, that's disgusting. Second of all, shame on you for breaking the deal, and lastly, Ruby and Lorelei are probably at the taverns again."

Belle nodded and rushed out of the room, presumably to head for the taverns. Regina groaned and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Emma rubbed her back and said to Red, "and that is how you deal with daily bullshit."

Red nodded and looked nearly ready to fall asleep at the table. "I'm going to bed. I've had enough for one day I think."

After Red left, Emma and Regina decided they should also head to bed. Running a kingdom was exhausting and although they weren't doing all of it, it still took a toll. They were ready to go back to Storybrooke, even if this place was still far less stressful than home.

….

Belle had to duck in and back out of four taverns before she finally heard loud music and singing coming from her next target. As soon as she got close enough to hear a woman singing, she knew she had found Lorelei.

As I came back through Dublin city

At the hour of half past eight

Who should I spy but the Spanish lady

Brushing her hair in the broad daylight

First she brushed it, then she tossed it

On her lap was a silver comb

In all my life I never did see

A maid so fair since I did roam

Smiling in spite of herself at the song, Belle made her way through the crowd to find Lorelei happily dancing and singing on the bar top with Ruby sitting nearby. Belle sat beside Ruby and when the song was finished, Lorelei took a bow and climbed down to join them. The crowd seemed upset she was finished but she loudly promised them another song later.

Lorelei was sat beside Ruby with Belle on the other side of Ruby. She leaned around to smack Belle's shoulder playfully, "what're you doing here little miss educated one?"

Ruby laughed, she was obviously a few mugs of ale in already. "I thought you were too busy reading to join us?"

Belle rolled her eyes, "I was too busy, and now I have finished! I'm not staying, I just wanted to tell you two that I have fully translated Lorelei's runes."

Ruby looked intently at Belle, "you know, technically, you still owe her a free viewing for that… she hasn't forgotten."

Belle blushed furiously, "well make that two debts to sirens I never intend to pay." Lorelei looked at her in confusion, but Belle continued. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the spell she can perform. It's called trans-essence delivery and…"

Belle was unable to finish her sentence due to Lorelei having popped up behind her and covering her mouth with her hand. "lovely story Belle. Can't wait to hear more. Too loud in here though, let's go somewhere quiet!" Lorelei winked at Ruby, "be back in a moment darling, don't drink my bourbon."

Ruby laughed and waved them off, too far gone to protest or question. Lorelei flashed her and Belle outside away from the tavern before letting her go. Belle shoved her away and angrily glared at her, "what was that for? It wasn't that loud in there."

Lorelei was fidgeting nervously, "you can't tell her about the soul sharing Belle."

Belle stared at the siren, mouth open in shock, "you knew?! You knew this whole time didn't you? You let me pour over all this and make a deal with that even more repulsive version of you to figure it out!" Then Belle started smacking Lorelei until the siren captured her hands in her own.

Staring at her intently, Lorelei spoke in a low tone, making sure no one would overhear. "Belle, you can't tell her, she would want to do it. You don't fully understand. I didn't think you could figure it out, and I hadn't thought the other I would tell you."

Belle pulled free and although still mad, her curiosity was beating her. "What don't I understand?"

Sighing heavily, Lorelei resigned to tell her, if only to avoid Ruby learning of the half story. "I will explain it to you. But not tonight. Tomorrow, I promise. But you cannot say a word to anyone else."

Belle crossed her arms and was about to argue, but there was a sadness in the siren that made her decide to wait. "Fine, I'll wait to hear what you have to say. I don't understand, but I will wait and I won't say anything."

Lorelei smiled at her and turned to go, but then turned to smile sweetly at Belle once more, "just for clarification, what promise did you make to the other me for that information?"

Belle blushed and rolled her eyes, "I promised to kiss her if she told me."

Lorelei giggled, "well now, you owe me a nude viewing and her a kiss. That sounds very much like a fine evening if you ask me Belle!" Belle threw her hands up in irritation and stormed off as Lorelei made her way back to Ruby. She had no intention of letting this night be ruined by tomorrows impending conversation with Belle.

…..

The song referenced in this chapter is Spanish Lady as performed by Celtic Woman.


	57. Chapter 57

Short chapter, but I have been very busy! Hopefully I will be able to write later this week. I appreciate all the reviews and I am just glad some people are enjoying this story, because I love writing it! Fair warning, I think I finally have an ending idea. I don't know when, but at some point, this incredibly long story will come to an end. Hopefully… well… I mean I can't write one story forever right? *shrugs*

Chapter 57

Regina was walking through the castle, minding her own business really. Her and Emma had breakfast with Henry and afterwards Emma had gone off to look around the castle grounds, obviously getting bored of castle life. Henry had probably gone off to hang out with Belle. As long as the filthy sirens weren't involved, Regina was happy enough to let him wander on his own. She was looking forward to simply relaxing for a while longer, after all, eventually they would go back to Storybrooke and there would likely be some massive crisis by now. Leaving the Charmings in charge would likely result in half the town being at war with something.

She chuckled to herself as she turned a corner, imagining Snow and David trying to reason with some hellish creature. She didn't see Lorelei until the woman had a grip on her arm and then it was too late as they vanished in a flash of lightening. As her eyesight cleared from the sudden flash, she swung at the siren, narrowly missing landing a fist in her eye. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Lorelei quickly released her and took a few steps back to avoid anymore flying fists. She held her hands up in an attempt to calm the woman. "Regina, relax sweetie, I just needed to talk with you away from the other people for a few minutes dear."

Regina was furious and words like dear and sweetie really only fueled the fire. "Have you never heard of asking first? Why is it that the most basic forms of etiquette and common sense seem to elude you?"

Rolling her eyes the siren stared at her, unimpressed, "please, tell me Regina, if I had approached you ad politely asked you to join me for a quick stroll so that we may converse in private, would you have been willing to participate?"

"Hell no. I would rather go find an ogre to arm wrestle in the mud than have a private chat with you." Regina crossed her arms and glared at the siren.

Smiling brightly, Lorelei looked as if Regina had just agreed with her reasoning, "there, see? I had to sneak kidnap you, because you would have refused. Although if you still desire a mud wrestle, I know a place…"

Throwing her hands up in irritation, Regina interrupted, "Lorelei, what the hell do you want? Speak now or I'm leaving."

"Fine. I need to ask you a hypothetical question." Regina didn't respond, so Lorelei cleared her throat and continued. "Okay, let's pretend you had the chance to be immortal, but maybe you didn't want to. But, maybe also, you did want to, but only if someone else could be immortal too. But," Lorelei ignored Regina trying to speak, "you didn't really want to make someone else immortal, because it kind of sucks sometimes you know? But, if you do it, then you die, but if not then they die, but maybe you both die, but then again, what if you're already dead?"

Regina finally got to speak as the siren took a breath, "Lorelei, I don't understand the question, I'm not even sure there is a question in there somewhere."

Taking a deep breath, the siren tried to simplify a bit, "Okay. There are three options. Option a, you stay immortal, and they die. Option b, you make them immortal and no one dies. Option c, you both die…" at the strange look of confusion, Lorelei finished with, "I'm asking for a friend…"

Raising a brow, Regina asked, "you're asking for a friend? Really?" Lorelei just shrugged. "Let me see if I can pretend to understand here. You have the ability to either make Ruby immortal, or become mortal yourself, but you're not sure which to do, or if you should do neither."

"Not me… what? No. Well yeah I mean I could do that too, but I mean my friend doesn't know what to do." Lorelei shifted nervously.

Regina rolled her eyes again, "okay. Obviously you think I am going to tell you the best option here. Well, I'm not." Lorelei looked irritated, but Regina held up a hand, making her quiet again. "What I will tell you, is that it is not your choice to make, or mine. You need to ask Ruby, obviously. You can't just go around making someone immortal without permission."

"You need to ask before you make someone immortal? Is that in some fancy queen handbook?"

"No, you idiot, no one has this problem. However, since it is Ruby's life we are talking about here, I am telling you it is up to her. How would you even do that? And also, aren't you already dead? How would you become mortal?" Regina had about a thousand questions now. She actually wanted to have a good long chat with the siren.

Naturally, as soon as Regina became interested in the conversation, Lorelei decided it was done and Regina found herself blinded by another flash and standing in the hallway of the castle once more. The siren was no where to be seen. Letting out a loud growl that startled some servants passing by, Regina ground her teeth and stomped off to find Emma. If she had to be irritated, so did she.

…..

Ruby woke up with a pounding headache in a cold bed. She searched around with her senses but the siren was gone. She contemplated going to find her, but the moment she opened her eyes, she decided to pull the blankets over her head and never move again. Apparently a couple days and nights of drinking and flat out partying can catch up to anyone, even a werewolf. She was holding her head, trying to will away the migraine when she felt the familiar electric charge that announces Lorelei reappearing. She kept the blankets over her head though, whining a little when she heard the woman giggle at her.

"Shut up. I forgot how horrible the enchanted forest can be on a bender."

She felt Lorelei crawl into the bed and pull at the blankets over her head, but she was still refusing to see the light of day. "It can't be that bad, come out."

Ruby gripped the blankets tighter and balled up under them, growling a little, "leave me alone, this is your fault anyway. You're the one who insists on drinking the village dry."

More laughter made her head pound harder before Lorelei was gently reaching under the blankets to put a cool hand on her forehead. Ruby almost told her not to use magic, but her head really hurt and there was a definite probability that she would vomit soon. Cool and calm magic eased out of the sirens hand and into Ruby, relieving the pain and stomach twisting. After a few moments, Ruby sighed deeply and threw the blankets over Lorelei too so they were both in the warm darkness there. When she opened her eyes, she smiled brightly as she looked at the softly glowing silver runes on the other womans body.

Lorelei smiled back at her, "do you feel better or should I turn out the mood lighting?"

Ruby kissed her lightly, "I feel fine now, maybe just hungry. Thank you. But it really was your fault."

Lorelei kissed her back just as lightly and stared into her eyes. "Well, how about we get something to eat and then we can go some place pretty instead of the taverns?"

Ruby cocked a brow at her suspiciously, "some place pretty huh? Did you do something that I'm going to be mad about when I find out later?"

Lorelei frowned at her, "I did not. Not yet. Well, I mean not that I know of… yet."

Ruby laughed and pushed the blankets down to let the cool morning air hit them, causing her to shiver but she jumped up anyway, finding her clothing in the wardrobe. She dressed quickly and they went to the kitchens together, neither saying much at all. Ruby eyed the siren over her teacup, something was obviously on her mind. But, Ruby knew she wasn't going to be able to pull it out of her until she wanted to talk about it. They were just standing from the table when Belle burst in, her brown eyes immediately locking with Lorelei's silver ones. Belle opened her mouth in what looked like the beginning of an angry tirade when Ruby found herself beside a small river in the woods. Blinking away the bright light of the sirens magic.

"Belle looked pretty pissed at you…"

Lorelei shrugged and gestured to a fallen log for them to sit on. "If you can name one time Belle wasn't pissed at me, I will explain."

Ruby opened her mouth but closed it again as she realized that wager couldn't be won. So instead she just sat down and watched the water flow by. It was nice and peaceful. After a while of just relaxing though, Ruby had to know, "there is obviously something on your mind. Please tell me?"

Lorelei didn't look at her, but she did frown slightly. "well, what's on my mind is actually what has Belle so upset. I told her I would tell her all about the magic of my runes, and then I didn't." Ruby just listened, not wanting to stop her. "I can make you immortal, Ruby." Ruby gasped and stared, but still didn't say anything, so Lorelei went on. "Or, I can make myself mortal. Or, I can do neither. But once I do any of these things, I cannot undo it. And also, I have about three more days to make a choice."

"I don't understand. I mean, ok you can do all that, or nothing, but why is there a time frame?" Ruby was a mess of confused and conflicting emotions and found it difficult to even say that much.

Standing abruptly, Lorelei starting pacing, looking very conflicted. "When I was ill, the magic had a profound effect on me. I quite likely would have been destroyed, but for one thing. I no longer am the only one who owns a piece of my soul." Ruby looked confused, so Lorelei tried again. "I never meant for this to happen, but apparently, when one finds their true love, after death, weird shit happens. The fact that you are a living mortal, made things a bit weirder. When we laid eyes upon one another, you stole a piece of my soul. I know you didn't do it intentionally…" She told Ruby as she started to protest the theft. "But it happened anyway. So, when I basically destroyed myself, the only reason I survived at all, is because you had a piece of my soul with you and you were alive. Fun fact: I can't be undone unless you are." Lorelei stopped pacing to watch Ruby absorb all this.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Ruby finally spoke again. "That's how the other siren fixed you isn't it? She used the piece of you that's in me to, what? Reignite you or something." Lorelei nodded and Ruby did too. "Okay. So, why the timeframe part?"

Lorelei cleared her throat, "well, it seems that in order for the other me to fix me, she had to take that piece back from you. Problem is, now you're dying. You have three days before it snuffs you out entirely. At this time, I am immortal and you are mortal and dying. If I give it back to you, you will be immortal. If I toss it out entirely, I will die with you in three days."

Ruby couldn't stop the tears from falling now, it was very overwhelming. Lorelei sat with her and held her tightly. They stayed like that for a while before Ruby finally calmed enough to speak. "Okay, I don't want you to die, and you don't want to die so…"

Lorelei interrupted. "I don't mind dying. Really, if you don't want to be immortal, that's fine. We will just die together, no big deal."

Ruby chuckled and hugged her tighter. "I don't want to die. But I don't really want to live forever either."

Lorelei sighed, "well… I'm afraid that's all the option you get darling. And, I still don't know where you would go in death." They stayed by the river well into the evening, mostly in silence. It wasn't until the sunset that they went back to the castle, just in time for dinner.

…..


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Cora very quietly walked down the hallway, using tiny amounts of magic to hide the sound of her steps would possibly alert her target. She needed to be perfectly silent for this to work. One hand held her long dress up off the ground, the other held tightly to a small dagger. She used the shadows to her advantage, creeping up in a painstakingly slow pace. The boy in front of her had not heard her yet. Sweat formed on her brow, but she ignored it as she took one step after another, struggling not to rush. She made sure to keep her breathing as slow and calm and quiet as she could, but she was so excited to be this close to her ultimate goal, her breathing was still a bit ragged from the thrill. She was almost close enough to the boys back… a few more paces.

With a burst of adrenaline, she lunged in a deadly swiping motion with the dagger. The sound of Henry crying out in terror causing her to laugh triumphantly. She watched with unhindered joy as Henry turned towards her, hands gripping at the damage from her dagger, before he fell to the ground.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn't been quick enough, and had never heard her coming up on him. She smiled triumphantly at him as he fell to the ground. "I told you, boy. I told you to always be aware of your surroundings, now look at what you've let me do."

Henry stared up at her in anger. "I was paying attention! I didn't think you would attack me here!"

Cora couldn't contain herself any longer and doubled over in laughter as she watched Henry try to stand again. It was hard to stand up and try to keep your trousers up also. Especially with the belt having been cut through.

Eventually he did stand and kept his pants up with one hand as he glared at her. "Couldn't you just shout boo instead of cutting my belt?!"

Wiping the tears from her eyes away, Cora managed to breath again and say, "well I suppose, but this is much funnier. That's twice today I have caught you unaware boy. Are you sure you are Emma's son?"

Henry just grumbled as he attempted to tie the belt back together well enough to hold his pants up. "Yes, I am. I can't seem to keep my magic focused all the time, I have to concentrate on it. Every time I stop concentrating, the magic vanishes. I don't know how you do it."

Cora rolled her eyes at him. She used her magic to repair his belt, taking pity on him and his strange looking under garments. "Alright, let's try again then. You must learn to allow the magic to linger. Controlling the magic is easy enough, but allowing it to exist around you is far more difficult…"

Cora was interrupted by a flash of silver announcing Rory's appearance. The siren looked between the two before handing a baby to Cora and vanishing again. Cora heaved a frustrated sigh as she looked at the infant in her arms. "I'm afraid our lesson is being cut short dear. My lovely Rory has brought me the wrong child, again." Cora tilted the baby so Henry could see the blonde hair poking out of the blankets. He smiled and made a few cooing noises at the baby Emma before Cora sighed again, "I should go find Snow, hopefully she has the other babe." Cora nodded at Henry and left in a puff of magic.

Henry was still giggling when he walked into the dining hall for dinner. Belle was already seated, staring across the table at Lorelei who was pointedly ignoring her. Ruby was sipping on her drink, looking a bit paler than usual. He sat beside Belle and the servants brought him water and a sort of soup.

Regina entered the dining hall with Emma close behind. Emma looked tired, probably due to the thorough listening she did as Regina went on a tirade about the siren and still being stuck in this world. Regina sat down and casually flicked her wrist, causing the soup in front of Lorelei to throw itself in her face. Henry failed to hold in his laughter, Ruby looked from Regina to the drenched siren, but said nothing. Belle didn't even flinch. She just continued to stare.

Lorelei sat, eyes closed as her soup dripped off her face. "Well… I suppose I deserve that one." She grabbed a napkin and wiped her face off, not bothering to try and remove it from the rest of herself. "Ruby, I forgot to mention, earlier I kidnapped Regina to ask her what I should do in our situation. She thought I should ask you."

Ruby nodded and sipped at her own soup, "well, thank you Regina. I appreciate the advice."

Regina nodded with a polite smile, "of course dear."

Cora came into the room with Snow and Red close behind. The infants must have been sleeping. Cora sat down and looked Lorelei up and down, "Lorelei darling, the soup goes in your mouth, not on your head. Do they not have soup where you come from?"

Henry nearly fell over from his laughing fits, even Belle cracked a grin at that, but she remained quiet. Cora eyed Henry, and then flicked her wrist towards him, sending his soup over his head also. He stopped laughing immediately. "Three times today my boy. I was told the siren had taught you what you know of magic, now I see the resemblance." Cora smiled brightly at him as he began sopping the liquid off himself.

Lorelei tossed a roll at him and smiled, "oh Henry, I forgot to tell you, always keep a bit of magic around yourself. It's good for catching arrows, or soup."

Henry glared at her, "yeah. I got that. I just can't seem to keep it there all the time."

Lorelei shrugged, using another roll to soak up soup from the table before talking around a mouthful, "well, I never have bothered. Then again, I am currently immortal so I saw no need to."

Belle squinted at her curiously, "currently immortal?"

Lorelei sighed heavily with a dramatic eye roll, "fine Belle. If you must know…" Lorelei reiterated the entire process of soul sharing to Belle who listened intently. When she finished she simply said, "so that's that. Ruby can decide to be immortal, or dead alone, or dead with me."

Everyone at the table was staring at the siren with mouths open, except Ruby of course who was working her way through a jug of wine. Belle finally spoke, "that's why you didn't want to tell her you could share a soul, because you already did and it already back fired."

Lorelei nodded, "yes. However, since you wouldn't quit hounding me, I saw fit to mention it to Ruby, so now she can decide instead of me."

Regina looked to be deep in thought until Emma nudged her, "Gina, is there another option?"

Regina shrugged, "I'm not sure. Maybe?" She gestured for Emma to follow her and the two left the dining hall.

Henry spoke next, "I don't get it? What's so hard to decide? Lorelei gives it back and you're both immortal."

Ruby finally put her cup down and almost answered without slurring… a lot. "Henry, oh it's not that simple. Think of it… Being immortal means watching everyone you ever know die. It means constantly meeting people, loving them and then watching them grow old and die. I mean, can you imagine going into a fight of some kind and no matter how many people die around you, you survive? That's… I don't know!" She stood, shaking her head and made to leave the hall, Lorelei began to follow but Ruby held her hands up to stop her. "No, please. I just need to be alone for a while." With that she ran from the room.

Lorelei sat back down and looked defeated. There was a zap as Rory popped into the empty seat Ruby had left and leaned into Lorelei whispering, "you know, if you just let her go, I could find you ten more far prettier replacements."

Henry stood and quickly left, with Belle following. They assumed this would turn into a fight. Snow and Red also stood to leave, assuming no one was with the babies now that Rory was here. Cora waited to see if there would be a fight, but since Lorelei just sat quietly, she kissed Rory softly and took her own leave.

Rory watched as Lorelei slowly emptied her wine glass. The minutes ticked by like hours. Finally, Lorelei spoke, "you know what?" Rory shifted closer, grinning at the idea that she had finally turned her other self to the dark side. Lorelei grabbed her face and got nose to nose with her before whispering, "I think you should see what could be, without love."

Rory's eyes went wide and she attempted to flee, but it was too late. Lorelei was far stronger and they vanished with a violent crack of lightening.

…..


	59. Chapter 59

Something got weird the first time i posted this chapter, so i had to repost. If there are still errors, i apologize. I would love to explain what happened... but i have absolutely no idea what it was. Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 59

Regina and Emma had spent most of the evening after dinner in the library trying to get an idea of what else could be done for Ruby and Lorelei. Belle was helping, as was Henry. It was getting late and everyone decided to call it a night.

Back in their own chambers, Emma started a bath for them before bed. "I don't know what I would do."

Regina glanced at her before stepping into the hot water. "You mean you don't know if you would be immortal or dead?"

Emma shrugged as she tossed the last of her clothes and stepped into the bath. "Well, I mean, it's different for us. We would both go to the underworld. For them though, no one knows where Ruby goes. But, I don't know if I would just want to die. Do you want to be immortal?"

Regina eased into the water fully and took a few minutes to respond. "I don't think I should be given that much time. I haven't exactly had a good track record with behaving. I imagine if given immortality, at some point, or maybe many points, I would slip in to darkness again. Being immortal, well, what could stop me?"

Emma smiled and leaned back against Regina, "me. I would love you and make you stay on the good side."

Regina chuckled and wrapped her arms around Emma. "Oh really? Forever? You think you cold love me enough to keep me from evil for the rest of existence?"

"Hell yeah! I would love you so hard, you wouldn't be able to do evil shit because you'd constantly be surrounded by love rainbows and heart shaped clouds." Emma jumped as Regina poked her in the ribs, both of them falling into laughter and splashing water out of the tub. Things were about to become heated in the cooling water, but a shout made them both turn to the door.

Cora was standing in the doorway with a hand over her eyes dramatically posed as if blinded. "So sorry to interrupt your playtime, children, but I can't find Rory."

Emma rushed to get towels as Regina made her way more carefully out of the tub. "Cora, I don't care. Really. I do not care at all, not even a little bit."

Emma wrapped herself up and handed a towel to Regina who wrapped up also. "Same here, Cora. Literally, zero percent on the care meter."

Cora peeked through her fingers and since they were covered, dropped her hand with a groan, "really, you two. Is this all you do with your time? Roll around various parts of this castle?"

Emma blushed slightly but Regina just arched a brow and responded, "yes. We have spent over six years fighting every bad thing you can think of, and now we are on vacation."

Emma eyed Cora suspiciously, "what do you mean 'parts of this castle'"?

Cora huffed a laugh, holding up a hand and ticking off fingers and she spoke, "let's see… you were heard in the pantry. Seen in the gardens, repeatedly. Forcibly removed from the library…"

Regina interrupted, "the library was entirely innocent!"

Cora smirked, "yes, I was told that was what you said, however I find myself in doubt considering you were found with Emma crawling out from under your dress."

Emma blushed harder and held her towel tightly, "I was fixing a stocking…"

Regina bit her cheek to stop from grinning. "Well… it was innocent at that point… we were interrupted before the situation improved."

Cora rolled her eyes, "whatever. Have you seen Rory?"

Emma shook her head quickly, "no, we haven't. Leave?"

Cora started to turn to leave, but Ruby burst in the room frantically and didn't manage to stop before slamming into Cora, sending them both skidding across the wet floor and ending up in the tub, a tangle of limbs and swearing mouths.

Regina and Emma stood and watched as the two fought against themselves, their clothing and the water sloshing all over the place with no intentions of helping. Eventually, Cora grabbed Ruby and stopped her flailing about. The two sat in the water, Ruby with her legs over the side and her hair on Cora's head. Both women were breathing heavily from trying not to drown.

Regina was about to help them out of the tub when Snow walked in, talking. "Regina? Emma? I'm coming in, please be decent…" Snow stopped, mouth wide at the sight in the room. She opened and closed her mouth several times but couldn't manage a sound.

Regina smiled at her, "Snow! You're late. The water is probably cold by now, but you are of course welcome to jump in. Cora needs help washing the wolf behind the ears, but I'm sure you are an expert in the process."

Emma cracked up laughing and was attempting to move Snow aside so she could leave the room but was again stopped by a woman pushing herself through the doorway. "Zelena. Awesome."

Zelena looked around, curious, but unamused. "Listen, I'd love to stay and snap a few pictures, but I'm leaving."

Regina frowned at her, "leaving to where exactly?"

Zelena smirked at her wickedly, "to our Storybrooke. The sirens have returned. They blew up the ship we had there to get my attention, but have since dug up two more. I am going back to Robin and our daughter immediately." Zelena eyed the women in the tub, Cora still wearing Ruby's sopping hair on her head. "You of course will follow once you are done scrubbing mother and the pup."

Regina rubbed her eyes in irritation, "I keep remembering when I was an only child. It was nice."

Cora stared at her, "you are an only child."

Ruby pulled her hair back and told Cora, "nope. You got knocked up by some gardener then sent your infant off to Oz so you wouldn't be seen as the whore of Babylon or some shit. That was Zelena. Your first born."

Cora looked absolutely horrified as she got herself out of the tub, nearly drowning Ruby in the process. "How dare you accuse me of such a horrific thing?!"

Snow frowned at everyone, "Cora didn't have another daughter…"

Regina held her hands up, "in our timeline, she did. How could we know she didn't diddle the help in this world?"

Cora looked completely furious as she poofed out of the room. Snow looked confused. "Well, that was fun, but I was going to tell you about the sirens returning, Red told me. I didn't know Zelena would come by personally."

Zelena was just watching it all, quietly. Finally, she looked at Regina and said, "I can't believe it."

Regina looked at her sister apologetically, "Zelena, it doesn't really mean anything…"

Zelena interrupted, "it means plenty, Regina. For starters, it means that there is no Zelena in this timeline. That's ridiculous! A world without my wickedness is simply sad. Secondly, I could have been relaxing in this bathroom all this time instead of roughing it on the beach!"

Emma smiled and squeezed Regina's hand, making her smile too. Red appeared behind Zelena and barked a laugh, "roughing it? Really? You conjured up a six room cabin and had three villagers to command. Not to mention that box that blows cold air or hot air." Red finished while eyeing Zelena.

Zelena shrugged as everyone laughed, "I told you, pup, that is an air conditioner and it is absolutely mandatory to avoid discomfort." She grinned wickedly before poofing in a cloud of green.

Everyone finally took stock of their surroundings, crammed in the bathing chamber, and Red and Snow quickly left. Ruby had pulled herself upright again and Emma was kind enough to dry her out with magic. Regina smiled at her when she seemed composed again. "Ruby, I don't want you to think I haven't enjoyed watching you bathe with my mother, but did you come here for another reason?"

Ruby blushed but frowned at her, "yes, madam snark, I did. Lorelei is gone. I told her I needed space but I meant for like five minutes. I went back in the dining hall and both her and Rory are gone."

Emma nodded, "yeah that's why Cora was here… well, that and to get you wet." She didn't even stop laughing when Ruby threw the bar of soap at her.

Regina rolled her eyes and left the bathing room to find pajamas. "Enough children. Ruby, I'm sorry but we have no idea where either siren is. I can only assume they are together somewhere."

Emma shrugged, "well, at least you can be sure Lorelei isn't out strolling for wenches."

Ruby made a face at her, "strolling for wenches?"

Emma shrugged into a pajama top before answering, "yeah, strolling for wenches. I was talking to Cora earlier, we figured that's the Enchanted Forest equivalent of cruising for bitches."

Ruby managed to laugh at that, feeling a little better. "Okay, you're right. I do trust her not to go around picking up farmers daughters or something." She sighed heavily before heading to the door to leave. "Just, if you do see her, tell her to pop by and say hi to me maybe? She might be better than she was, but letting me know when she is leaving, or where she is going is still a foreign concept for her."

Regina nodded and agreed and locked the door after she left. She also immediately put a barrier on the room to avoid further interruptions. She laid next to Emma and let her hold on tight for a bit before sighing, "we should probably go home in the morning."

Emma sighed too, "yeah. I don't really want to know what the hell my parents have been doing while we've been gone."

Regina chuckled darkly, "I bet some evil thing popped in to town and your mother tried to paint it pink and teach it to smile…"

Emma laughed too, "nah, my dad probably challenged it to a sword fight and got skewered. In fact, it was probably a giant platypus or some shit!"

They fell asleep smiling at all the ridiculous possibilities.

….

Rory sucked in a deep breath as her feet hit the ground, shortly followed by the rest of her as Lorelei tossed her down. She soon regretted the deep breath however. The air was hot, nearly burning her throat. The ground was dust and grit, and hot to touch. She imagined if she wasn't who she in fact was, she would have burnt palms. She quickly stood again, taking in the scenery around her and Lorelei. She could see forever across what looked like a hard baked land, scorched by a dim looking sun…

Dim sunlight? She spun towards Lorelei, "you brought me back to the underworld? We had a deal you voluptuous viper!"

Lorelei smirked at her, "you are not stuck here this time, and this is not your underworld. Nor is it mine."

Frowning, Rory puzzled it out. "We're in another timeline?" Lorelei nodded. "Why? And also, are you fucking bat shit crazy?"

"I have been looking for my sirens every so often, just in case they aren't looking for me. I stumbled upon many different timelines…" Lorelei looked out with concern, "this one, however, is very unique to the others I have found."

Rory followed her as she began to wander off, after all, she couldn't jump timelines. Lorelei apparently was fine and casual with it. She focused on her darker self again when she spoke. "Why?"

Lorelei looked around as if not really seeing the burnt world around her. "Feel, you simple minded thing. Reach out with your senses and tell me what you find in this underworld."

Rory did search then. At first, uncaring. But, after a few moments she closed her eyes and searched much harder, reaching much farther. She opened her eyes and looked at Lorelei. "I only feel us and…"

"Me?"

Both Lorelei and Rory turned quickly to set eyes on another siren. But this one was very different. There was no silver shining happily here. This Lorelei was covered in runes as black as the midnight sky. Her eyes held nothing but a vast emptiness and her toothy smile was filled with teeth that were sharpened to points. Rory was shaking slightly, overcome with horror.

Lorelei smiled sadly at this version of herself, "hello Lorelei."

The dark siren smiled brighter, "hello… Lorelei's!"

Rory nearly shouted at the darkened one, "what the hell happened to you? My god you look horrid, wretched even. Obviously still very attractive but in a demented sort of way that isn't much fun on a picnic."

Still smiling the darkened siren answered, "nothing has happened to me except victory."

Lorelei sighed, looking at Rory, "have you never wondered what would have happened if you had never loved Hades?"

Rory paled and looked around, searching frantically. There were no spirits. There was no Hades, there were no golden sirens dancing happily on a shore. There was no massive barrier leading to the happy fields. There was only this wretched woman in black runes with sharp teeth and no heart.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Belle was sifting through books, trying to absorb as much of the knowledge in this realm as possible before they left for home. This was made exceptionally difficult by the woman pacing nervously through the area. Ruby had been pacing furiously for the better part of an hour, red cloak trailing her every move. Belle sighed and finally shut her book, eyeing the woman marching back and forth.

"You know, it's annoying when Lorelei does this, but it is no less so when you do it."

Ruby stopped and glanced at Belle for a moment before picking up her movements again. "I can't help it. Lorelei is missing, Rory is missing, and to make things better, it's wolfstime apparently."

"Well, since Lorelei isn't here for you to maul, why don't you go running?"

Ruby stopped again and seemed to consider it but then shook her head quickly, "what if she shows up while I'm in wolf mode?"

Belle was going to argue that if she wasn't here now she probably wouldn't be soon, but the library doors opened to admit Red and Snow, both looking energetic for such a late hour. Snow stopped in front of Ruby and made her stop pacing. "Ruby, Red and I are going out, come with us?"

Ruby frowned at her and seemed confused, but it shifted into understanding quickly, "Snow! You turned wolf didn't you?" Snow nodded happily. "That's great! I guess I hadn't considered that you must have turned, or Red would've killed you already."

Red gasped in shock, "why would I kill her?! I assume you're referencing Peter, but I didn't have control of my wolf at that time. I would never hurt Snow!"

Ruby quickly calmed them, sort of, by explaining the werewolf true love curse. Snow seemed fine with the news, but Red paled. "So, if Snow hadn't shifted…"

Ruby nodded sadly, "you wouldn't stop until you had hunted her down. Which is why I can't shift. Lorelei may be immortal, but I know it still hurts like hell when I try to kill her. If she comes back while I'm shifted…" Ruby had tears in her eyes just thinking of what would happen.

Red reached out and grabbed her hands, Snow close by. They shared a glance of understanding and Red spoke to her in a calming but firm manner. "If she comes back, and you go for her, you will have two big ass wolves to stop you. I know you and I are compatible because we're the same person essentially. I know your wolf will respect Snow as my mate also. Therefore, if you attack we will stop you and you won't outright attack us. That will give Regina or Emma or anyone else time to get your cloak on you."

Ruby chewed her lip for a few moments before glancing out the window at the brightly lit night sky. Finally she sighed, and removed her cloak, handing it to Belle. "Make sure you don't lose this Belle." She winked at the incredulous look on Belle's face before shifting with Snow and Red.

Belle smiled happily at the three massive wolves as they turned and ran out the doors. The two huge black wolves, and the only slightly smaller white wolf with a black face and ears. She watched out the window as the three dashed into the forest, howling and yipping happily at each other.

…

Cora had tried everything. Everything she could possibly think of. The infants would not be soothed. They had been crying for hours. She had managed to convince Red and Snow to go run off some stress. They got so tense lately as wolfstime swept in on them. It was tedious enough to tend to two inconsolable infants without having two high strung werewolves marching around the room. Eventually, Emma and Regina had wandered into the nursery to investigate the wailing babies. At first, Emma had refused to touch either child, claiming it was just weird, but Cora and Regina had forced her to assist. After a few moments, Emma had conceded and seemed to be actually enjoying them, even with all the crying.

"I just don't know what could be the matter. They eat, they sleep and they cry. It has been nonstop since…" Cora trailed off as she sighed heavily and closed her eyes.

"Since when?" Emma sat down with an infant in her arms, bouncing gently.

"Since about an hour after Rory vanished." Regina finished Cora's thought.

Cora nodded tiredly. "Yes, they have grown so used to her constantly meddling with them, they miss her presence."

Sighing in defeat, Regina picked up the baby Emma and started for the door to the hall, "well, if we are going to be up all night, I am going to need coffee."

Emma followed holding the other baby while Cora settled in to nap on the nursery couch, grumbling about Rory.

Regina and Emma were met by a few servants, in pajamas at the kitchen. They looked tired also, probably the ones closest to the nursery hadn't slept either. Nonetheless, they had already started preparing coffee and a few snacks as well. Two of them offered to hold the infants and try to rock them to sleep as Emma and Regina sipped on coffee. The wailing continued on through the night, the only other sound being howling far off in the woods.

It was only an hour short of dawn when the babies finally cried themselves into sleep. The castle was blissfully quiet for the first time all night long. Regina had enough sense to have a servant go around and threaten the life of anyone who dared so much as a whisper near the nursery. Everyone was walking on eggshells as the sky was starting to lighten. Cora assured them that Red and Snow and therefore Ruby would shift again before coming back in, so they would hopefully not wake the babies either. Cora herself had gotten at least a few hours to rest, so she told Emma and Regina to go sleep also, after thanking them for the help.

Emma had just reached for the handle on their chamber door when they held an electric crack that shook the castle walls with a deafening blast. Soon followed by infants beginning to cry…

Growling murderous intentions, Emma and Regina raced down the corridors, heading to the main area of the castle which was the best guess for the noise. As soon as they rounded the corner, they were met by a wall of heat like standing in front of a wide open oven. They stopped immediately and were breathing heavily through the heat to see two silvery bodies laying in the middle of the throne room. Emma took a few steps in approach but was quickly forced to back up again from the heat coming off the two sirens.

Regina put a shield up between them and the sirens, but couldn't get any closer either. They watched as the two sirens lay on the floor, motionless. Cora came running around the corner but ran into the shield.

"What's happening? Why aren't they moving? Why are you blocking me?!" Cora shouted at Regina.

Regina held her hands up in defense, "I shielded us because they are too hot to approach. I don't know why."

Everyone stopped talking and looked at the sirens again as they heard one of them giggling. "Regina said we're hot mate. I knew she was into us."

Lorelei was breathing heavily on the floor, eyes still closed but she laughed also and replied, "yeah, Regina and me go way back. She won't usually admit it though… She must have really missed me."

They both were laughing in a weezing manner at their own hilarity as Regina rolled her eyes at them, "yes, very funny. Where have you been and when do you think this heat with ease off so I can properly slap you both?"

Lorelei opened her eyes then and looked towards her, "not sure about the time frame exactly. We seem to be quite soaked with the fires of hell at the moment. This floor will help though, it's solid granite, should pull the heat out quicker."

Rory laughed again and looked at Lorelei nudging her with her foot as they were laying at awkward angles. "Aren't you going to tell them why we are soaked with the fires of hell?"

Lorelei nudged Rory with her own foot, slightly harder, "because you have a big fat mouth and are too stupid to shut it."

Rory stopped laughing and angrily kicked her back, "no. Wrong point in the story. Try starting at the beginning where you took us to meet LoreleiMcLoveless!"

Kicking hard enough to scoot Rory a few inches, Lorelei growled back at her, "I took us there to show you that you're a fucking idiot! Which, by the way, you proved rather thoroughly by antagonizing that sexy little bitch into attacking us!"

Regina tried to interrupt, but they weren't listening. Eventually she gave up and just focused on pulling the heat off them and pushing it into the air. If too much heat went into the granite, it would probably crack. She was so focused on this, it took Emma three times calling her name, and then finally physically shaking her for Regina to focus on her and Emma told her in a panicked voice, "the wolves!"

Regina listened and could hear howls and growls echoing through the castle halls, obviously getting closer. "Ruby sensed she came back. If she runs in there she will be roasted before she can get to the siren."

Emma nodded and quickly focused her own magic, prepared to use it to stop a rampaging werewolf. Ruby slid around the corner and just before she got a grip on the slick floor, Belle seemed to appear out of nowhere and threw herself and the red cloak over Ruby's wolf. Emma rushed over, fearing Belle would get hurt by accident, but Ruby's actual head popped out from under Belle and the cloak before she got there.

Ruby was breathing heavily, and clinging to Belle and her cloak. Belle started talking to her in hushed tones to calm her down.

Snow and Red came running around the corner, nearly colliding with everyone else, before stopping, looking well winded. "We all shifted back again and headed into the castle, but then she suddenly shifted, so fast it was incredible. Then she took off and we couldn't stop to shift again until she stopped or we might never catch up to her", Snow explained quickly while looking apologetic.

Red looked past Emma towards Regina and Cora, but she couldn't see any further. "Did Lorelei come back?"

Emma was about to answer, but there was the sound of fighting coming from the throne room. Belle stayed to calm Ruby, everyone else rushed to the shield, which Regina had moved closer to the sirens as the heat diminished. It was still too hot to get to them though.

Rory and Lorelei were still flat on their backs, trying to put as much of their bodies on the granite as possible, but were now kicking each other furiously at the same time as arguing.

"You are a useless waste of magic in a flawless body!" Rory shouted as she kicked Lorelei square in the ribs.

"You are a magnificent creature with shit for brains!"

"Yeah? Well you think just because you have more power than me, and the most beautiful smile I've ever seen, that you can just teach me lessons like you own me!" Rory grunted hard as Lorelei cut off her shout with a kick to the stomach.

"I wouldn't need to teach you anything if you would use your perfectly proportioned eyes to see how much better your already prestigious life could be if you just loved someone".

Regina frowned at them and Emma whispered at her, "are they insulting each other or complimenting?"

Cora rolled her eyes, "I thought I was a narcissist…"

Finally Regina had pulled enough heat to drop the shield, it was still uncomfortably hot, but not intolerable. She reached for Lorelei, intending to separate the kicking feet, but both sirens shouted "NO" at the same time. She quickly retracted her hand.

Lorelei sighed and motioned for everyone to stay back, "still too hot. You'll burn yourself quite badly dear."

Rory smiled at Lorelei, "bet she doesn't mind a little heat. Anything to get her hands on you."

Lorelei smiled back at her, "you know I have seen her watching you walk away many times."

Rory sighed, sitting up on her elbows, "yeah, once when she was watching your backside sway away, she mumbled something along the lines of 'hate to see her leave, love to watch her go'"

Bother sirens were giggling now and sitting upright on the floor. Emma interrupted their harassment, "shut up. Where have you two been?"

"Oh, jealous wifey. Better back off or else blondie will have to get all rough with you." Rory said in mock trepidation.

Lorelei shrugged, "Emma talks a good game, but really she is just mad that I prefer brunettes…" The rude banter might have continued if not for Ruby interrupting.

"Lorelei…" Ruby nearly whispered it out.

Lorelei turned far more serious then, standing slowly. She seemed to waver a bit, as if her knees might not hold her. Ruby made to help her but Lorelei put her hands up to stop her. "I'm sorry, still too heated sweetheart. Give me a few minutes, please." Ruby backed away again, looking hurt. Lorelei in turn looked apologetic, "I want to hold you, I do. But I am literally trying to push off the heat of hell. It's clingy, you know. I'm sorry I vanished. I should have told you peace out, but you stormed out and I was left to deal with this little asshole." She gestured at Rory who looked offended.

Rory was slowing rising to her feet, but she stumbled and sat back down, glaring up at Lorelei. "I just made a friendly suggestion. There was no need for you to throw us into another timeline just to prove a damn point. You are ridiculously overly dramatic."

"Another timeline?" Regina questioned.

Lorelei nodded. "I will explain, if you insist, but for now, I would like a cool bath and maybe some bourbon. It took a lot to get me and this fool out of our little ordeal and I'm utterly exhausted."

Regina sighed, but relented. "Fine. But, I want an explanation soon. By the way, your sirens have returned. Zelena has already headed back to our world, and I would love to join them."

Henry walked into the throne room, looking well rested, but incredibly confused. As everyone turned to look at him, he went wide eyed and asked, "what do you people do after I go to bed?!"

Lorelei laughed and cautiously touched his shoulder, when it wasn't too hot for him she rested her hand on him and told him, "boy, how many times do I need to explain this to you? Never go to bed first. Always wait up for the party. Sleeping is better left to the dead."

Regina shoved the siren away and pointed Henry to the kitchens, "go get breakfast and never take her advice."

Rory watched Henry walk off as she slowly got to her feet. She was unsteady, but she stood. Cora cautiously reached out to her and touched her face. Once her hand was on her and not burning, she smiled and then swiftly slapped her soundly on the cheek. Already off balance, Rory stumbled to the floor to sit again, rubbing her cheek. She glared daggers up at Cora, intending to tell her off, but she eventually sighed heavily and closed her eyes before standing again.

Rory looked Cora right in the eye and said something very quietly, mumbling. Cora frowned and leaned closer, curious. "What?"

Rory grit her teeth loudly before finally saying through her clenched teeth, "I said, I love you and I'm sorry I have not been cooperative."

Everyone stared in astonishment, including Cora. She blinked rapidly before finally nodding and saying, "well… just… try to be better?" Rory nodded, still gritting her teeth, "I suppose I love you too." Rory smiled brightly at her, but before she got to excited, Cora covered her mouth so she wouldn't speak, "not another word. I love you, and I will continue to do so, if you try not to be insufferable. Now, there will be no bourbon and a bath for you. I don't care if you small like a dirty ashtray, right now there are two screaming infants that refuse to quiet. You will tend to them, when they sleep, you can have a bath and bourbon." Cora removed her hand and looked to be awaiting a harsh answer.

Rory took a deep breath and smiled at her, gently taking her hand and heading towards the corridors while she said, "I will soothe them. But only if you bathe with me…"

Regina cringed as the two of them moved out of ear shot. "I'm going to agree with the bath and bourbon. It may be the only good idea these filthy creatures have ever had."

Lorelei smiled at her salaciously, "fine, but I'm not washing your feet."

Regina sneered at her as she took Emma's hand and poofed them to their room.

Lorelei smiled at Ruby who was trying to look upset at her. "You however, I would love to wash from head to toe." Ruby smiled back at her and they walked off towards their own chambers.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Instead of heading home immediately the next morning, they had somehow been wrangled into a going away ball by Cora and Snow. Regina wanted no part of it, even though she had agreed to stay for it. Instead of helping to plan for it, she and Emma had been enjoying their last day of freedom from Storybrooke. Henry had looked for Lorelei and Ruby, he wanted to know what they were going to do about the whole soul sharing thing. Unfortunately, although he could feel her somewhere, the heart lines still flickered in and out. Strangely though, the people who belonged in this world, their lines held steady. He had learned not to mention them to anyone, especially Rory who was not overly enthusiastic about her own lines. She may have accepted that she belonged to Cora, but it didn't mean she was happy about it just yet. Her only other lines ran to the two infants. She didn't seem to care much for Snow or Red though. In fact, unless she was irritating them or harassing them, she pretended they didn't exist.

At some point, Snow had come to realize that Rory annoyed them to get rid of them so she could have the infant Emma to herself. Once they caught on, Snow attempted to make Rory behave more respectfully by telling her she wouldn't be allowed to see the baby if she wasn't nice, but that only resulted in Rory magicking the infant away for hours while Snow and Red searched uselessly for them.

Henry had tried to help with the party, after all there was a lot to do before this evening. No one would agree to stay any longer than morning, so a massive party had to be made in a single day. Fortunately, Cora and Rory had plenty of magic to make everything work properly. The entire kingdom had been invited, more for the opportunity to announce the new queens and just to ease the peoples minds in general. There was likely to be plenty of adjusting needed to accept Red, a werewolf and Snow a dethroned princess as queens very suddenly. But Cora was sure the people would come around quickly, seeing as how the reign of the evil queen was officially past.

Rory was currently rearranging the entire ball room to allow for a large royal table in the back. Their had to be enough room for everyone. Red and Snow would take the center, Cora and Rory to the right. Ruby and Lorelei would be on the left. Regina and Emma would be next to them, much to Regina's displeasure. Henry and Belle would take the seats next to Rory and Cora, much to Belle's annoyance.

Henry was trying to use his magic to move some tables around, but ended up igniting them instead. He was panicking and simply making it all worse when Rory stood beside him, put out the fire and fixed everything again. She looked at him with a frown, "that isn't very productive, boy."

Henry sighed heavily and turned to leave, "I know, I'm sorry."

Rory grabbed his sleeve with an eyeroll and pulled him back around towards the table. "Firstly, pretend you can see the waves of magic, in your mind, make them small, and point them towards the table. Then imagine pushing with the little waves."

Henry did as he was told, and after a few attempts, he managed to push the table just a few inches. He smiled triumphantly and concentrated again, this time imagining the waves picking up the table and moving it backwards a few feet.

The table landed heavily on the ground, but not too roughly and it was where it needed to be. Rory nodded at him, "there, not so hard, is it? Just do that from now on, some people need to imagine the magic as an actual physical thing, instead of just being there. You can try the same with protecting yourself. Just try to constantly imagine your magic around you like a shield. Eventually you won't have to think of it constantly, because you will just think it's there habitually and it will be."

"That doesn't make sense… if I imagine it's there, it's imaginary."

Rory pushed him out of her way as she went back to the royal table, "it's magic, boy. If you imagine it, it's real, because magic. Don't think so much, it's bad for your health."

Henry shrugged and did as he was instructed. He imagined a little magic bubble around himself. He also imagined it always being there, no matter what, almost as if he had built it and set it there. He considered finding Cora to make her throw something at him unexpected, but then it would be expected. He jumped when something heavy hit the floor beside him, looking down to find a silver plate laying there. He looked over to Rory who was smiling.

"There, see? Not so hard as you make it out to be." At that, the siren ignored him again, setting back to work.

Henry frowned but then realized that crazy woman had chucked a silver plate at him, in hopes that he had figured out the barrier magic. Rolling his eyes he left the room before the threw something sharp.

….

Ruby sat and watched the water flow by in the stream. Lorelei was idly throwing little rocks into the water, neither of them having said anything for a while now. Ruby had to make the choice, and it wasn't easy at all.

After an easy silence, Ruby finally sighed and moved to sit leaning sideways on Lorelei. "I think the only answer is for us both to be immortal. But, I think I need to get rid of my wolf."

Lorelei frowned at her, "why on earth would you do that?"

"Because, I mean, it's hard you know? Not shifting. I can't imagine fighting it every wolfstime forever. I don't know, I guess a lifetime sounded manageable, but forever not so much."

Lorelei stood abruptly, nearly making Ruby topple over. She started pacing quickly, tapping her chin and looking very deeply in thought. "What if… what if you could shift and not attack me? What if I just go far away, or hover out of reach?"

"Then there would be a crazed wolf jumping at you or running to far away. That's not much better than not shifting."

Lorelei stopped suddenly and grabbed Ruby, making her stand. Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Lorelei unhooking her red cloak. "Take it off."

Ruby grabbed it and pulled it back on properly. "No! You idiot! It's wolfstime, I'll shift."

"That's the point." Ruby made no move to undo her cloak so Lorelei groaned loudly. "Look, before, I had no magic when you attacked me, and before that, I couldn't control my magic. Now, however, I am in control and very powerful. If you attack me, I can defend myself and even stop you. Do it. Please."

Ruby refused, until the please was said. Lorelei wasn't exactly big on asking. The fact that she was asking instead of magicking, was what convinced Ruby to go for it. She took a very deep breath and then slowly let her cloak fall. The shift came instantly.

….

Snow and Red had finished helping with the party, what little they were allowed to help with. Both women were itching to run just a little before things got started though. Resisting wolfstime wasn't something they did very often.

Cora threw her hands up in defeat after the pair had whined for nearly twenty minutes to her. "Fine! Go run! But I swear to you if you are not here before dinner is served I will make wolf skin rugs out of you both!"

The two women excitedly ran for the doors of the castle, not caring about the threats. They would run for an hour, maybe two and be back within plenty of time. They stood just outside the castle gates, ready, when they heard a long howl off towards the river. They glanced at each other worriedly before shifting and running towards what must have been Ruby's howl. They had to find her before she attacked her siren. But they couldn't know why she would have taken off her cloak to begin with.

The two wolves bolted to the river, following the scent of Ruby and Lorelei. As the burst through the trees and onto the river bank, both wolves stopped so suddenly, Snow actually tripped over her own paws and landed on her face.

There on the river bank, was Ruby's wolf. She was standing over something. Red approached quietly, but then jumped and let out a series of happy yips, calling Snow to come see too.

…

Guests were arriving in mass, all dressed in their best for the ball. Regina and Emma had used magic to disguise themselves from the guests, not wanting to explain everything to the people. They were pretending to be distant royal relations to Cora.

Cora had left them to greet people as she waited outside for Red and Snow to return. Time was running out and they hadn't come back yet. It had been two hours since they left. Cora was ready to send Rory to drag them back when she heard a series of howls coming from the forest. The guests all looked towards the woods with fearful eyes. Although this hadn't been how they would be told about Snow and Red, it would probably be for the best this way. Cora smiled and waited for the wolves to come out.

First, Red and Snow themselves burst out of the trees, running full speed towards the strangers who screamed and opened a path leading straight to the gates and Cora. As they got near, the wolves leapt and shifted to people just in time to stop in front of Cora, both women breathing heavily. They turned to the crowd and waved before heading inside again. Cora nodded and motioned the still wary looking people to come in, when another howl came from the trees.

Cora frowned and wondered how exactly to explain two Red's to the population. The crowd parted quickly again, but with less screams as a wolf jumped through the trees. This wolf stopped however and seemed to be waiting.

Cora frowned and watched as another howl tore through the trees. Ruby sat and waited patiently while a big, but tired looking silver haired wolf stumbled through the trees. The silver wolf was panting heavily and looked too thin and ready to collapse from exhaustion. Ruby licked the silver wolfs face and the pair made their way, walking, to the gates and Cora. Cora used her magic to tell them not to shift out here and stepped aside to let them inside.

….

Ruby and Lorelei made their way upstairs and a hand maid, probably sent by Cora, let them into their room and shut the door. Ruby shifted immediately and giggled as the silver wolf drug itself onto the rug in the middle of the room and collapsed. Lorelei finally shifted back to normal and just lay there breathing heavily.

Smiling brightly, Ruby laid on the rug next to her, "well… good news is, I can shift so long as you do. Bad news is, you apparently lack stamina and agility, and grace when you shift."

Lorelei smacked her on the arm before laying still again, catching her breath still. "Well, I admit, I may not be accustomed to running around in dog format, but I will get the hang of it."

Laughing, Ruby jumped up again and started preparing their clothes for the ball. She was full of energy and couldn't remember having ever been happier. Back in the clearing, when she had dropped her cloak, the wolf had lunged for Lorelei. Using her magic, Lorelei had stayed out of reach. But, like Ruby had said, the wolf just continued trying no matter what Lorelei did. Then, the siren seemed to get an idea. There was a flash of light, and suddenly a beautiful silver wolf stood where Lorelei had been. Ruby had had a sort of internal battle for a few minutes. Part of her still wanted to attack, but there was another part fighting to not attack. It took a lot of strength, but Ruby had won the battle and had accepted the magical shift as good enough.

Of course, Lorelei had tried being normal again and the wolf had gone on the attack again. But as soon as Lorelei went back to wolf, Ruby had control. It was strange, but very much better than nothing at all.

Lorelei finally managed to stand again, only to sit in the chair instead of lay on the floor. She wasn't entirely sure if she should be happy or not. It was good that Ruby could wolf out again. It was very strange though, to be a wolf. They seemed all legs and it had taken some time for her to even accomplish standing. In fact when Snow and Red had shown up, she had just recently tried jumping and had landed on her face, again. Then, they wanted to run. Lorelei had done her best, but it was such an unnatural thing for her to run as a wolf that she had done more falling than running. Ruby would run circles around her, literally, nipping at her to get up and go.

Something had changed though, after maybe an hour of playing wolf. She had actually come to terms with her shape, she had sort of accepted it as normal. The howl she had let out just before stumbling through the trees was completely involuntary. She didn't howl. How absurd. But she had.


	62. Chapter 62

Hello again. I know it's been absolutely forever, and I'm betting a lot of people who have read this fic aren't going to now, but…. Well I intend to finish it soon. Not this chapter, but maybe in two or three more… I don't know. I'm very unfocused. I'm not unfocused just on this fic, it's actually life in general, so don't feel foorgotten. I tend to drift in and out of my own attention span!

Chapter 62

The grand party Cora had put together on such short notice was progressing without too many problems. The guests still seemed nervous about so many werewolves being around though. They had come to the conclusion that since the new queens were wolves, surely they would be bringing entire packs into the court. Truthfully, aside from other timeline duplicates, they were the only ones in the royal vicinity. Rory had been rather well behaved, aside from falling asleep during the speeches that Cora and Snow had been giving.

Ruby still seemed a bit distant, but that is to be expected giving her mortality options at the moment. Lorelei merely held her hand and waited for an answer. Regina and Emma had decided to dance and drink and just flat out enjoy their likely last day of peace. They could go home in the morning… or whenever they awoke. Belle had wandered back to the library shortly after the speeches, already bored with socializing.

As midnight approached, the guests began leaving, all of them assuring Cora and Snow that this new royalty was going to be a change for the better. Someone had given Henry wine instead of grape juice and he was being ushered to bed by two guards as he had insisted he didn't need a nanny to take him to bed.

When finally the last guests had left and the castle was closed up once more, only Ruby, Lorelei, Cora and Rory remained. They were sitting quietly, watching the fire burn lower and sipping apple brandy.

Ruby let out a deep sigh and finished her glass before speaking, "alright. I've made up my mind. Let's be immortal."

Lorelei simply nodded and finished her glass as well. "Alright. I do have a plan, by the way, on what to do with our immortality and freedom from the underworld."

Cora asked, "and what is that dear?"

"Why, we're going to timeline hop. We could fix all the problems we come across. We could release all the other Lorelei's. We could revert all the Regina's and replace all the Cora hearts."

Ruby smiled, "doesn't time move on though? We happened across this world where time had stopped but, they can't all be like this one."

This time Rory interrupted, "actually, my dear duplicate here has managed to not only hop across timelines, but also how to hop backwards into timelines."

Lorelei nodded, "yes. Time travel. It's not so hard really."

Ruby laughed a little and said, "you mean time isn't a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff?"

The three women stared at her in confusion and Ruby just giggled and said, "oh I forgot… I'm probably the only Dr. Who fan."

"Dr. Who?" Cora asked.

"Exactly!" Ruby answered as she went into another fit of giggles.

Lorelei shrugged and shook her head a little, "okay, my soon to be immortal love, I think it is time for you to go to bed." Lorelei assisted Ruby up, which was made more difficult by Ruby laughing and repeating 'timey wimey'. They made their goodnights and vanished in a crack of light.

Rory sighed and squeezed Cora's hand, "please tell me you will not be as crazy as her."

Cora squeezed her hand right back and answered, "oh, my sweet little naïve love, when it comes to pie, I'm the nuttiest of them all." She winked and refilled their glasses as Rory stared at her warily.

The morning came, and the castle came to life. Well, except for the main occupants. No one bothered to peel themselves out of bed until the clocks rang out noon. Regina and Emma were slowly preparing to leave along with Henry and Belle. Belle was pleading with Cora to let her take upwards of sixty thick books with her. Promising to return them one day.

Cora rolled her eyes again, "You are going to another timeline, how could you possibly intend to return them?"

Eyes wide and pleading, Belle tried again, "I will have Lorelei bring them back for me!"

Cora shook her head again, "no. I have spent enough time with my two sirens for five lifetimes. I'm good on the return trip, thank you."

Regina smiled at them, "Mother, stop teasing and make copies for the poor girl."

Belle took on an offended look, "you can copy them?!"

Cora laughed as she waved her hands around the mountain of books. "Fine. But only because Regina asked so nicely."

A second pile of books appeared, matching the first. Belle bounced up and down excitedly, until she realized Rory was rather focused on her chest. She stopped, blushing slightly and began trying to carry as many books as possible. Rory shook her head clear and stopped Belle. "That would literally take forever. Let me help." Belle looked suspicious but couldn't really stop her.

Rory held her hands up and with a flash of light, the pile was gone, and in it's place was a silver purse with bright golden buckles holding it closed. Belle picked it up and looked inside, immediately smiling brightly. "Every book fits in here and it weighs nothing! Thank you so much Rory!"

Rory smiled and made to walk away but Belle threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Caught so off guard, Rory blushed but hugged her back just as tightly. Eventually however, Belle tried to part and Rory hung on. Cora narrowed her eyes at Rory and the hug ended. "You're welcome Belle."

Belle went running to the boat clutching her silver purse tightly. Regina and Emma waited for Henry to make his good byes and then they boarded the ship also. Cora and Rory returned to the castle to begin their days and the rest of their lives.

As Snow and Red watched the timeline hoppers boarding their ship, they held each other lovingly. They had said their good byes at the castle, but still watched from the tower as they left. "When do you think our last visitors are going to follow?"

Red was asking about Ruby and Lorelei of course. They had decided to wait and make sure their immortality stunt worked properly. "Well, I imagine if all goes as it should, they will leave shortly after tonight." Snow held Red tighter, not wanting this perfectly quiet moment end.

Behind them a throat was cleared and they turned to find Lorelei and Ruby standing there. "Ah, sorry to interrupt this lovely cuddle fest, but we're ready to make the leap." Lorelei smiled at them, looking moderately nervous.

Ruby noticed and squeezed her hand tighter. "it's fine. I mean it'll be fine. Probably."

Snow laughed and finally released her Red, "sounds very reassuring dear."

Ruby shrugged and the four turned to head towards the throne room. That is where they would make Ruby immortal to always be with her siren.


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

The sun was just rising over storybrooke when they hit the dock with the boat. "Well… No dragons in the air… no smoke or flames. Maybe everythings fine?" Emma said, trying to sound hopeful.

Regina narrowed her eyes as something was running towards the dock. Then she sighed and started off the ship. It was Snow. She looked panicked. How natural of her.

"Oh my gosh! Thank god you're back!" Snow shouted at them. She was out of breath and looked ready to fall over.

Regina smiled tightly at her, "Snow, thanks for the welcome home. What did you do?"

Snow looked confused but Emma interrupted her thoughts, "Mom, what's wrong?" Emma sounded bored beyond all reason. She already missed the other timeline.

Snow had caught her breath and started in a matter of fact tone, "well, firstly, your father thinks he can run this town; which we all know he cannot do under any circumstances. That man can barely cook toast without catching the house on fire. He actually tried to appoint Leroy as sheriff! Naturally I told him he couldn't because Leroy can't even see over the wheel of the cruiser but your father…"

Regina interrupted by putting her hand up to Snow, "the point Snow. Let's get to it."

Snow nodded and smiled shyly, "right, sorry. Of course. So anyway, I told David he is not allowed to appoint people to positions of power, but you know what he did? He actually had the audacity to tell me I was jealous…"

Emma was listening without interest, eyes glazed a little until she glanced at Regina and saw the look of death being directed at her. She jumped a bit and stopped her mother again, "Hey, the point. Remember that part? It's the part you haven't gotten to yet. Look for it at the end of everything you're thinking about."

Snow closed her mouth and frowned, her eyes darting around as if searching for the point. "Well, nothing has really happened that is detrimental…"

Regina snorted a laugh, "I assure you there is plenty of mental dear."

Snow Gave her a flat look and then a smug smile, "you're just mad because nothing crazy happened without you here."

Belle spoke behind them, "where's the forest?"

Everyone turned to look at her, Snow turned red. They then looked at the surrounding area. The town seemed fine, but… well. There was nothing beyond the town itself. Just grass as far as they could see. They then turned back to the red faced Snow. She started stuttering then, "oh, uh, well… th-the forest… well it sort of…" she gave a nervous laugh and held her hands up, "who really liked it anyway?"

Emma shook her head and shouted "mom, where the fuck is the forest?! You can't just lose a god damned forest!"

Henry was laughing and Belle looked intrigued. Snow tried to defend herself. "I tried to explain to you what happened but you wouldn't let me talk!"

Regina was tired and wanted a good bath with her own shampoo. This was bullshit. "What could David making Leroy a sheriff possibly have to do with a missing forest?"

Snow's only answer was, "Well it won't make sense unless you hear all of it, but when he tried to tell me I was jealous because he was in charge, I told him Regina wouldn't put him in charge of matching socks let alone the whole..."

"No, mom, the short version. Very short. Like seven dwarves short."

Crossing her arms Snow said, "the blimps took it."

"What blimps?" Regina asked.

"The black ones." Snow said.

"What does color have to do with it? Why is that an explanation?"

"Because the black ones took it, not the yellow ones."

Emma's head hurt already. "Where did the blimps come from?"

"No idea. I was hoping they were from Narnia though. I'd just love to meet Asgard. There was a lion, but he wasn't able to talk to me." Snow said while looking at her nails. "Didn't speak a word of english, poor thing."

Regina looked at Emma and sighed again. "I feel like we need the entire exhausting story."

Emma yawned and shook her head no, "Nope. Fuck this. It's just a forest. We'll grow a new one."

Regina was laughing in spite of herself but Snow interjected, "oh, in the story you won't let me tell, Zelena, Wil Scarlett and David were among the people in the forest when it was taken."

Both women gawked at her before finally sitting on the dock and motioning for her to tell her god forsaken story. Henry and Belle managed to sneak away already.

…..


	64. Chapter 64

**I know, I've been saying this for 76 years, but really, this is the end. I can't go any further at this point. I hope you enjoyed this nonsense. I learned many things writing this fic. First and foremost is that I shouldn't try to write more than one fic at a time, it does not go well. ;) Thanks for reading.**

Chapter 64

Regina and Emma sat on the ground, leaning their backs against each other, breathing heavily. Their clothes were torn and dirty. Soot covered most of the skin exposed. Emma's blonde hair matched Regina's now. They sat, and they kept breathing, because that was about all they could do. They had made their way to this land to recover the people taken with the forest. Now… well now they were just waiting for the end to come. They were incredibly outnumbered, which makes sense, because they were the only two who came here.

Zelena had refused along with everyone else left in town. So, Emma and Regina got the forbidden wand from the fairies at the nunnery and blasted themselves to this land, following the magic trail. Immediately, they had been attacked as intruders. They had ran, and fought, for two weeks now.

After the last explosion however, it was quit time. They couldn't have even stood, let alone summoned their magic. They hadn't seen or heard about the people taken from Storybrooke, maybe they were dead? They also hadn't seen the forest. They had been running and fighting in the dingy back alley ways of this city.

Regina reached back and grabbed Emma's hand, squeezing gently. She watched the strangely dressed men and women approaching cautiously with their too long rifles. She smirked at them and said to Emma, "well, time to die I guess."

Emma nodded as she watched people approaching from her direction, squeezing Regina's hand, "yeah. At least we know where we're going."

Regina's smirk turned to a grimace, "son of a bitch. I forgot about that. We're gonna be surrounded by Lorelei's minions."

Emma giggled lightly, then coughed from the action, "it could be worse, Hades or Rinkadinkshittyskin could still be there."

Regina sighed heavily and held onto Emma's hand tightly. "Well, I blame your mother for getting us killed, but I love you anyway."

Emma nodded, "I blame her too, no worries. I love you too."

The crowds of armed people circled them and raised the rifles, pointing at the two women.

Regina tilted her head in confusion as the crowd started jerking oddly, almost as if to a beat. She listened and slowly the sound they were jerkily dancing to became louder. She rolled her eyes so hard she nearly fell over, but then she started laughing, just as she felt Emma bouncing from her laughter behind her. It wasn't long before the music was plenty loud and then the words hit, ringing out in an all too perfect and very familiar voice.

I'm bringin sexy back

Them other boys don't know how to act

I think it's special, what's behind your back

So turn around and I'll pick up the slack

Then, that damn siren with her wings folded nicely on her back came strutting thru the parting crowd to lean down in front of Regina. She smiled in a manner that Emma was going to stab her for, but Regina started bobbing her head to the music.

Dirty babe

You see these shackles, baby I'm your slave

I'll let you whip me if I misbehave

It's just that no one makes me feel this way

Ruby appeared as Lorelei helped Regina stand and she helped Emma stand too. The crowd had dropped their guns and were now steadily grooving to the beat as the four women casually made their way out of the street. Ruby led them thru twisting streets. Lorelei hung back and kept the crowd controlled.

Once they reached an incredibly tall wall, Ruby stopped them and smiled at them both, hugging them and looking absolutely over joyed. "We have been looking everywhere for you!"

Regina smiled back at her, "how did you find us? When did you get back from that other timeline? Who sent you…?"

Ruby laughed and held up a hand to stop the questions. "We got back about a week ago. Snow tried to tell us what happened but Lorelei refused to listen to the entire… fucking ridiculous story." She rolled her eyes and looked exhausted just remembering it. "So, we started realm hopping, trying to find you two. Every time we turned up empty handed, Lorelei would listen to a bit more of her story. Well, it took a week to finally get the last bits."

Emma huffed a laugh, "I'm pretty sure it took her a month to tell it to us straight."

Ruby laughed and nodded, "yeah well, eventually, Lorelei got her sirens involved and we found you here, in the land of untold stories."

Regina frowned looking around, "is that what this place is? I hate it."

Lorelei strutted up, wings gone now and interrupted them, "well, they hate outsiders. Especially important people like the evil queen and her savior."

Emma looked around too, "have you guys found a forest? Or maybe just people from Storybrooke? Fuck the forest, honestly."

Ruby laughed, "yes, everything is back where it belongs already, it took a bit to find you guys here, we just waited for the people to gather and figured you'd be there."

Regina sighed in relief, "good. Can we leave now? If I see one more yellow blimp, I will actually crush my own heart."

Lorelei smiled at Ruby and took her hand, together they put their free hands flat on the wall. When they backed away again, there was a shining shimmering doorway. It looked filled with liquid metal. Ruby kissed the siren lightly then stepped thru it. Regina and Emma followed her and they stepped out into the middle of the road in Storybrooke, right in front of Grannys.

Lorelei came thru and people started coming out of Grannys to greet them. Ruby cleared her throat and told Lorelei, "sweetheart, you might want to destroy that portal."

The siren nodded and threw her hand towards the shining doorway. It shattered instantly, shards of glass, both big and small landed all around the feet of the four women. Everyone was hugging Regina and Emma and thanking Ruby and Lorelei for fetching them.

Regina sighed and took Emma's hand, "well, we should get cleaned up. Who knows how long we have before the next round of bull shit comes for us."

Emma smiled and nodded, looking tired, "yeah I guess."

Ruby held a hand up to stop them, "actually, you don't have to worry about that sort of thing anymore." At the confused looks, Ruby continued, "me and Lorelei, we got this. We have like, shit loads of power between us. Plenty enough to take care of any issues that pop up. You guys, you should just relax and enjoy your happy endings."

Regina smiled and felt herself hoping just a little, "you guys did it didn't you? You're both immortal now?"

Ruby smiled a massive grin and nodded, "yeah! It came with a lot of power for both of us. We're actually equal in ability now. It took a minute to get used to it, I sort of blew a hole thru that big pretty castle, but we fixed it before we left. Now I'm good tho, no worries."

Granny interrupted and smiled at Ruby, "congratulations dear. So, tell me, do you intend to control your little siren girlfriend?" Ruby looked confused but nodded slowly. Granny looked at her with a cocked brow and then said, "oh good, because she is currently staring up Regina's dress."

Everyone turned around to find Lorelei grinning in a filthy manner while staring down at a large shard of glass that was perfectly fit by Regina's feet, giving her a reflected view right up the woman's tattered skirt.

Ruby growled and threw her hand towards the siren, flinging her backwards about twenty feet. After impact, the siren pulled herself back up, glaring at Ruby, "I didn't touch it!"

Ruby went growling to yell at the woman while Emma smashed the piece of glass. Regina just shook her head and laughed, eventually taking Emma into her arms and kissing her soundly. "It could be worse, right?"

Emma glared off towards the siren who was currently staring wide eyed at Ruby as she got yelled at. "I wish just once I could hit her in her stupid face and it actually hurt her instead of breaking my hand."

Regina raised her brows and said quietly, "I have a better idea…" They vanished in a cloud of purple smoke and reappeared in the master bedroom of the mansion. Regina smiled sweetly and released Emma. "How about, you help me wash up and then I'll help you, and then, we can help each other."

Emma didn't need to be told twice, she launched after the woman.

…..

It wasn't exactly a peaceful life that Storybrooke had from then on, there are always problems. But, for the most part, the siren and the werewolf managed to handle the problems that were thrown at them. Every so often, something would happen that they needed assistance with however. For example, Lorelei went running to Emma when Ruby was having severe mood swings on account of her pregnancy. Of course, Emma was little to no help since Regina had been crying, and then screaming, and then humping for a while now. Her pregnancy wasn't going easy either, apparently.

But, aside from a few stray issues, the Swan-Mills family got to live in peace. They ended up having three children in total. It wasn't entirely planned, but after figuring out how to conjure certain anatomical additions, Emma wanted to do it more than once. Unfortunately, she hadn't figured out how to stop the reproduction aspects of a magic appendage. Regina was willing to forgive her when she became pregnant a second time. The third time however, after Emma definitely assured her she had it figured out, Regina was quite irate and rumor had it, that was actually how the third child ended up in Emma's belly, instead of Regina's.

Lorelei and Ruby had a lovely daughter themselves. The child was born with a silver tattoo on it's chest in the shape of a wolf's paw print. She started shifting into wolf form at age 5 and by 10 she could play every instrument she chose as well as remember every song she ever heard. They named her Annabelle because Ruby won the argument. The town was rather relieved that the little girl wouldn't be labeled 'SuperSonicAtomicSmackAttack' for the rest of her life. As it turned out, Annabelle even inherited her parents immortality. So, the town was safe and secure, and everyone lived rather nicely ever after.

Probably the only unhappy person in the known realms who was still unhappy, was Gold. But, I mean, he deserves it so that's fine. Crinkledimplebutt never bothered anyone again as he stayed soundly locked up. So, no more Spittledribblechin. No more Crotchetymcslobberface.

…


End file.
